3D Printing in Healthcare

3D printing has developed as a modification of an old injection printer. Today, it is rapidly expanding offering novel possibilities as well as new exciting applications for various sectors including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and defense industries. This chapter presents key application areas within the healthcare sector. In medicine, 3D printing is revolutionizing the way operations are carried out, disrupting prosthesis and implant markets as well as dentistry. The relatively new field of bioprinting has come to be because of advances with this technology. As will be discussed, numerous applications of 3D printing in healthcare relate to personalized medicine. For instance, implants or prostheses are 3D printed for a specific user's body, optimizing the technology to work for an individual, not an average user as with most mass-produced products. In addition, 3D printing has applications on the nanoscale with printing of drugs and other smaller items. Hence, 3D printing represents a disruptive technology for healthcare delivery.

Five essentials for successful merger integration: what the aerospace and defense industry knows

Purpose This paper aims to offer an original analysis of how three of the largest aerospace and defense (A&D) companies equipped their organizations for merger integration success. Design/methodology/approach Through a multi-case study, this paper explores the post-merger integration process for large-scale transactions completed over a 25-year period. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry executives and leading management consultants. The process involved collection of primary data, analysis of secondary data drawn from publicly available company documents and identification of key factors that led to success. Findings Five interdependent success factors (Figure 1) support integration teams and capture deal value. Managing the process as a megaproject further facilitates the effectiveness of post-merger integration, enabling leaders to remain laser-focused on integration activity while driving toward a long-term vision for the newly formed organization. Practical implications Merger integration has been identified as a primary source of deficiency that prevents acquirers from achieving anticipated results, negatively affecting merger success. Based on the findings of this paper, firms are more likely to create a compelling long-term value creation agenda when five essential factors are combined with a megaproject approach to manage the post-merger integration process. Originality/value This study advances current knowledge in the field by responding to requests to further explore the dimensions of merger integration that facilitate success and improve shareholder value, contributing new data to inform extant theories regarding merger integration and megaproject management and adding to the limited research on post-merger integration within the A&D industry.

Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing of Ni-Based Superalloys

Emerging additive manufacturing technologies have been gaining interest from different industries and widened their fields of application among aerospace and defense. The introduction of powder bed fusion processes was one of the significant developments in terms of direct metal part manufacturing of different materials and complex geometries, presenting good properties, and decreasing the need for tooling to allow fast product development as well as small-volume production. In this respect, nickel-based superalloys are one of the most employed material groups for aerospace and defense applications due to their mechanical strength, creep, wear, and oxidation resistance at both ambient and elevated temperatures. Nevertheless, the use of some materials has not become widespread due to several reasons such as processing difficulties, absence of design criteria or material properties. This chapter presents a comprehensive benchmark for powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of nickel-based superalloys considering applications, characteristics, and limitations.

3D Printing in Healthcare

3D printing has developed as a modification of an old injection printer. Today, it is rapidly expanding offering novel possibilities as well as new exciting applications for various sectors including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and defense industries. This chapter presents key application areas within the healthcare sector. In medicine, 3D printing is revolutionizing the way operations are carried out, disrupting prosthesis and implant markets as well as dentistry. The relatively new field of bioprinting has come to be because of advances with this technology. As will be discussed, numerous applications of 3D printing in healthcare relate to personalized medicine. For instance, implants or prostheses are 3D printed for a specific user's body, optimizing the technology to work for an individual, not an average user as with most mass-produced products. In addition, 3D printing has applications on the nanoscale with printing of drugs and other smaller items. Hence, 3D printing represents a disruptive technology for healthcare delivery.