Chest Tube Anchor for Collapsed Lung Project

Picture from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322161

Dr. Philip Jarrett at UT Southwestern Medical Center developed a chest tube anchor in collaboration with the UTDesign (UTD Senior Design Program) and needed to fabricate the part using injection molding.

A design team fabricated the part in the UTD project workshop.

The team used the Bantam mill in the project workshop to develop a mold. They started with 3in x 3in x 1.5in Aluminum 6061 stock. They struggled with developing tool paths and had multiple discussions with the UTD machine shop professional machinists before they could complete the mold.

Dr. Jarrett provided a bag of TPE 60A pellets for injection molding.

The team used the Galomb A-100 Benchtop Injection Molder to make the parts. There was a two-day learning curve before acceptable parts were generated.

During the project, the team also used a 3D printer to make a mold from high temperature filament. This mold cracked quickly when exposed to the high pressure imposed during the injection molding operation. This was a very nice learning experience!!

The manufactured parts were tested in the project workshop using positive pressure. The part worked very well even though the tape used during the test was permeable and caused leaks. Different types of tapes will be used in the future.

• Fabrication report
• Testing report

• Dr. Dani Fadda, Professor of Practice, 972-883-4626, fadda@utdallas.edu