Inhaler specialist Syqe Medical purchases Stratasys’ new J55 3D printer

Syqe Medical Ltd., an Israel-based pharmaceutical company specializing in medicinal cannabis inhaler devices, is now the proud owner of a J55 3D printer, a new office-friendly, multi-material 3D printer launched by Stratasys this past April. The company will use the compact machine to streamline and accelerate the design process for its inhalers.

Syqe Medical has a particular area of expertise: it develops technologies that enable therapeutic molecule delivery by inhalation. As we’ve seen, one niche it has been particularly innovative in is in the production of inhalers for medical cannabis. Part of the company’s job is actually designing these inhalation devices, which undergoes stringent medical testing before being approved for clinical use. The new J55 3D printer will be used to produce true-to-life design concept prototypes for these inhalers, which will enable more efficient validation for fit, form and function.

“Our products include very precise and intricate airways, which are usually less than 1mm in diameter,” said Itay Kurgan, Product Development Manager at Syqe. “Achieving this level of complexity in the design of a prototype is very difficult, but the J55 allows us to incorporate such intricate structures into the design with a level of accuracy we’ve not seen before. We can undertake iterations much faster and earlier in the design process, which ensures we can better validate products before they reach medical trials or when we present them to specific customers.”

The J55 3D printer was introduced by Stratasys earlier this year as an office-friendly and cost-effective 3D printing solution for designers. The machine, capable of printing nearly 500,000 PANTONE-validated colors and of using five materials at once, is especially well suited to the production of ultra-realistic prototypes. As an office-friendly system, it also integrates a number of other features, including a small footprint (0.43 meters square) and an unobtrusive noise level (under 53 decibels). The J55 also comes with a ProAero air extractor for odorless and clean 3D printing.

At Syqe’s facility, the company is already using the multi-color 3D printer to create realistic prototypes for its upcoming inhaler products. Specifically, Syqe is leveraging the precision of the system to print the chassis, casing, springs and other design elements—all of which closely resemble the final product.

“The J55 has added another layer to our 3D printing capabilities,” added Kurgan. “Not only does it allow us to quickly print design concepts with incredible realism, but we can do so from a system that operates quietly in the corner of our office. The only problem we have is with our designers, who now fight over who gets to use the J55 next!”

Syqe Medical purchased its new prototyping tool from Su-Pad a local partner and distributor of Stratasys 3D printing products. Syqe has installed the 3D printer in its design office space, complementing the company’s existing PolyJet 3D printing system.

“Creative companies like Syqe are seamlessly integrating the J55 into their design workflows to take product design to the next level,” concluded Zehavit Reisin, Vice President of the Design Business Unit at Stratasys. “The J55 importantly provides design studios an affordable gateway to ultra-realistic prototyping, enabling them to be much more creative with their designs and accelerate the validation process. Combine this with the fact that the rotational build tray offers such high throughput, even though the 3D printer has such a small footprint, it’s no surprise that the J55 has been a hit with designers since launch.”

The J55 3D printer is supported by GrabCAD Print software and is compatible with common CAD file formats as well as the AM-specific 3MF format. Stratasys has also revealed it is adding support for 3MF color workflow with KeyShot 3D rendering software from Luxion Inc. This capability is now in its beta phase and is expected to become available in late 2020.