3D Model Texas Medical Device Alliance and STL

3D Model Texas Medical Device Alliance and STL

I attended my second TMDA meeting on February 9, 2012. The presentation by David K. Leigh was especially interesting.

David spoke on the evolution of design and manufacturing and the role of additive manufacturing in the evolution. He also spoke of the need of and ongoing efforts to develop formal specifications for additive manufacturing processes.

Later, via email, David pointed me towards information on the ongoing development of a replacement for STL. Originally dubbed STL 2.0, it's now named AMF. The format promises to significantly increase resolution while simultaneously reducing file size. Additionally, there are discussions on adding the ability to include voxel data (3D bit-maps) commonly used by medical imaging equipment and industrial CT scanners.

David K. Leigh is the president of Harvest Technologies in Belton, Texas.