Previously, the manufacture of cobalt-chrome stem caps used in hip implants required two turning operations as well as grinding and polishing. By purchasing a twin-spindle, horizontal machining center with a unique offset secondary spindle, the company was able to change to a single setup that performed the turning and grinding simultaneously. As a result, the independent grinding operation was eliminated and the polishing operation became automated. The overall cycle time was also reduced from 50 minutes per part to 10 minutes per part.

Previously, the manufacture of custom knee implants was a time-consuming process that required many days or weeks, depending on the order. The company streamlined this process by combining ProEngineer’s solid-modeling capabilities with Stratasys’ rapid prototyping capabilities to produce a wax insert. Starting with a ProEngineer solid model, minor modifications are performed to tailor the model to the non-standard dimensions of the custom component. The Stratasys operation begins with 20 minutes of preparation time, and then runs unattended for six to 14 hours to produce the wax insert. The insert is used to produce a mold for investment casting of the knee implant. Afterwards, traditional manufacturing processes are used.

Similar impressive improvements were also implemented in the manufacture of femoral components, titanium hip stems, hip instruments, endo components, bone screws, and tibia inserts. In all cases, continuous manufacturing process improvement and streamlining have led to a 10% reduction in the cost of goods sold (COGS) for eight consecutive years at Howmedica Osteonics. All process improvements began with the goal of reducing lead times, which resulted in the improvement of other production process metrics.

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