DWK Life Sciences releases metal 3-D-printed bottle connector cap

DWK Life Sciences has released its first metal 3-D-printed product: a bottle connector cap manufactured by powder bed fusion for sterilized environments.

The original Duran GL 45 multiport connector caps are manufactured using conventional processes such as machining and welding. The new 3-D-printed version is fully functional and produced in a fraction of the time, the company reports. In addition, the product’s weight was cut from 150 g to 50 g. Development time from the first idea to final printed product was about two months.

A batch of the caps was 3-D-printed in medical-grade 316L stainless steel using an EOS system, which took around 51 hours for completion. After printing, physical and electrochemical processes are used on the surface in the final stage of production. The finished product is intended to be used in chemistry, life science, and biopharma laboratories.