Malaysia is a country that can list many positives. Situated in Southeast Asia, and sharing borders with Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesa, this is a country known for its diversity, as well as economic strength. With strong interests in worldwide business, banking, and technology, certainly both the government and citizens have a strong grasp on the important impacts 3D printing is offering now, as well as in the future. This has also been evidenced by the strong presence there of companies like Materialise as well as numerous medical breakthroughs seen in Malaysian hospitals, with successful cases like the country’s first 3D printed facial implant and inspiring work with e-NABLE, the volunteer group famous for distributing 3D printed prosthetics to children around the world.
Within the center, local Malaysian research teams will be:
- Developing new 3D printing applications
- Preparing 3D printing applications for the marketplace
- Becoming a knowledge center from within Materialise regarding 3D technology
These local research teams, according to Materialise, will also be responsible for 3D printing anatomical models, something that medical professionals around the world are beginning to rely on more and more—and we’ve spent quite a bit of time following ones developed by or with Materialise from their 3D printed cardiovascular HeartPrint® models listed as Class 1 medical devices in the US and European markets to specialized 3D printed models being made to assist in developing catheters.
Dr. Mohd Nazimi Abd Jabr of the UKM Medical Center in Malaysia worked with Materialise’s daughter company, OBL, to produce this 3D printed model for assistance in a cranio-maxillofacial procedure.
Malaysian researchers onsite will also be creating other 3D printed medical devices with the DLP technology at hand, mean to accentuate what’s already available to the end user via 3D printing software from Materialise. Also involved will be numerous original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who already work with Materialise as software partners, and will be collaborating at the center.
“We are delighted to open this competence center in Malaysia today. It provides the missing link between our existing engineering and software development in Malaysia, and our actual knowledge of the 3D printing process,” said Wim Michiels, General Manager of Materialise Malaysia. “This will benefit our customers and partners enormously, as it brings us closer together–in knowledge, technology and even proximity. It will also benefit Malaysia, as it will build local knowledge and develop applications well suited for the region.”
Wim Michiels, General Manager of Materialise Malaysia
The inauguration was attended by:
- Fried Vancraen, Chief Executive Officer of Materialise
- Wim Michiels, General Manager of Materialise Malaysia
- Dato’ Wan Hashim Wan Jusoh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer III of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)
- Pak Mei Yuet, Head – Technology Innovation Ecosystem of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
- H.E. Mr. Daniel Dargent, the Belgian Ambassador to Malaysia.
Founded in 1990, Materialise has undeniably earned the title as a pioneer in 3D printing, beginning as the only company in their region to first explore and use the technology. Aside from their main headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, they now also have offices and software development centers in the US, Germany, China, Ukraine and of course, Malaysia. Their services have made positive impacts in many industries, and notably that of the medical field as their expertise has been behind some groundbreaking surgeries that have changed patients’ lives. Their ’open and flexible’ solutions play a part in other sectors such as automotive, aerospace, art and design, and consumer goods as they aim to make the world better—and healthier. Let’s discuss this topic further over in the Materialise to Open 3D Printing Facility in Malaysia forum over at 3DPB.com.
Dr. Nazimi