Skip to main content: eyecre.at – Operation Plastic Eye
[Translate to English:] eyecre.at: Operation Kunststoff-Auge

eyecre.atOperation Plastic Eye

In 2013, David Ortner packed some design drawings in his luggage and went searching for a production company. His idea was to manufacture an artificial eye as a training tool for medical professionals. Together with 1zu1 Prototypes he successfully brought his product to market maturity. A combination of 3D printing, vacuum casting and injection molding with various plastics have made an unusual product possible.

5. December 2017

David Ortner is a trained office administrator. The native Tyrolean completed his apprenticeship at mts – the wetlab company, which provides training and continuing education for ophthalmologists worldwide. Medical professionals typically use pigs' eyes to practice surgical operations. However, they use also artificial eyes to practice special operations, for example in the case of foreign bodies in the eye, cataracts or glaucoma. As a teenager, David Ortner repeatedly heard complaints about the quality and durability of these plastic eyes. „I can do better than that“, he thought to himself.



However, his journey initially took him in a different direction – he studied robotics and mechatronics in Vienna. But the idea of developing an artificial eye never left him: in 2012, the then 29-year-old founded Eyelabinnovations, which two years later developed into eyecre.at GmbH. His colleague, David Oberbichler, invested the first 10,000 euros in the company and is still a partner today.

In an interview with Thomas Kohler, sales manager at 1zu1 Prototypes, Ortner describes this unusual project.


Mr. Ortner, how did your collaboration with 1zu1 Prototypes come about?

David Ortner: I had my first design drawings for my artificial eye ready in 2013 and took them to a trade fair in Nuremberg. Naturally, the big companies had absolutely no interest in such a small order. So I ended up looking for a small German prototype manufacturer. The staff at the fair gave me a wide-eyed look and asked if I'd heard of 1zu1 Prototypes. They're based near me and are renowned for their quality. I then quickly arranged an appointment in Dornbirn.

Thomas Kohler: We discussed the design with Mr. Ortner at our first meeting. It could have been implemented via 3D printing, however the design was not suitable for series production in larger quantities. It was immediately clear that he also needed support with the product development.

Ortner: I hadn't even thought about series production at this stage. It shows how inexperienced I was. I barely had any specific ideas of how such an eye could be made, and only a basic grasp of the materials. This didn't really change until the development phase.

Kohler: During the first meeting we called a 1zu1 design partner with whom we've worked well for many years. He was able to find some time and so joined the project by the first deadline.

With a new designer on board, did you have to go back to the drawing board?

Ortner: Not entirely. But we did spend a lot of time together over the following months, designing the parts we needed, which were manufactured by 1zu1 Prototypes. For me it was important to test the functionality using real parts. My colleague David Oberbichler carried out the first trial operations. 1zu1 continually gave us important tips to help improve the design.

Kohler: This was the typical rhythm for the project: design, first samples from 3D printing, further adjustments and more 3D printing. The first specimens of the lens, cornea and eye were created as stereolithography parts. The frame of the eye was produced using an Accura Xtreme, while Waterclear Ultra was used for the lens and cornea. We reduced the layer thickness from 0.1 to 0.05 millimeters to create a structure with more lifelike details.

Later on we used Accura 25, which is softer and comes close to the milky white color of the eyeball. This meant the parts no longer needed to be painted. For the cornea and lens, the material „122“, which has polycarbonate-like properties, was used for vacuum casting.

Ortner: We then refined the design in several steps. Thanks to production cycles of only three to four days with 3D printing, we made rapid progress in terms of product development. For me this was a real positive – when you have the parts in your hand, everyone involved speaks the same language. At the end of the development phase we had 20 pieces of the cornea, lens and eyes manufactured for the first time. We had a finished product in our hands!

What's the current status of the series production process – the reason you went back to the drawing board again early on?

Ortner: 1zu1 produces the fixing ring, support frame and base for us via injection molding. We manufacture all the other components ourselves using a variety of special materials – and still by hand to this day. The lenses, for example, are cast in different consistencies from a jelly-like material. We punch the iris from a thin latex foil with our own tools. We cast another foil, a few hundredths of a millimeter thick, from lacquer. We even mix the adhesive that connects the corneas with the eyeball ourselves using four components.

That sounds extremely laborious.

Ortner: The process is complex, yes. A total of around a dozen work steps are required to produce an artificial eye. But we now have production well under control. And by working manually we can continuously optimize our product.

Kohler: So far eyecre.at has produced more than 10,000 parts via injection molding. To do so, we use aluminum tools which can be used to produce up to 30,000 parts. Although they are less durable than steel tools, they are more than adequate for our needs and much cheaper. We also construct the aluminum tools in a modular manner. This allows minor changes to be made at a relatively low cost.

Ortner: … whereby „low cost“ is a relative term. Just like so many other startups – the development costs stretched our finances to the limit. At first, we thought we could cover the entire development process with 20,000 euros. In the first two years, however, we had already invested over 100,000 euros.

The start of series production was only possible thanks to the great commitment of 1zu1 as well as state subsidies. At first, we were only in a position to order 500 or 1,000 pieces. You won't even get a quote for that amount from a typical injection-molding manufacturer.

How is your artificial eye faring on the market? And what are the next steps for your product?

We now sell our eyes all over the world. Our customers include universities in Ulm, Heidelberg and Vienna, King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia and large pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Bayer. We work closely with mts – the wetlab company, where I completed my apprenticeship.

At the same time, we are constantly working on improvements. Together with a chemist, we have been looking for a way to produce the cornea from hydrogel for several years. Hydrogel would come even closer to the properties of the human eye – but it's difficult to process. A fundamental update to the product is also on our wish list. By the time you've produced 10,000 eyes, you have a good idea of what you could do better.
 


Interviewed: David Ortner is the founder and managing partner of eyecre.at GmbH. Thomas Kohler is sales manager at 1zu1 Prototypes in Dornbirn. The interview was conducted by Wolfgang Pendl; photos by Darko Todorovic.


Share

Place your order in just a few steps
You can do this with 1zu1direkt

Configure

Technology choice, material, color, surface structure…

Get started now

Data transfer

Upload 3D file, top priority for secrecy

 

Consulting

Analysis, coordination, advice on possible alternatives…

 

Personalized quote

promptly delivered, personalized and perfectly adapted quote

 

Immer Informiert bleiben

Sichern Sie sich einen Wissensvorsprung! Mit dem 1zu1 Newsletter erhalten Sie spannende Neuigkeiten, Informationen zu Messen und Veranstaltungen, zum Produktprogramm und zu besonderen Angeboten.