CGX Systems is a medical innovation company which is a leader in designing and manufacturing dry electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets and dry electrodes. During the development and commercialization phase of the EEG technology their manufacturing processes were limiting the ability to design and manufacture high-quality products quickly and effectively.

CGX designs and manufactures its own EEG devices which are used to monitor brain activity. As they transitioned from the design to the manufacturing process, the developers wanted a more efficient production method and better materials than the ones they were using at the time. Some of the parts were 3D printed with ABS filaments, but this resulted in quality control issues and the end result was not aesthetically pleasing. Other production methods they tried, including gravity casting and polyurethane, were too slow to keep up with demand. Injection molding was not an economical option as it was too expensive for the low-volume production runs and the highly specialized design. CGX needed a solution that could efficiently build low-volume, specialized systems using materials that were robust, biocompatible, and easy to manufacture.

CGX enlisted the help of a 3D printing service bureau with HP Multi Jet Fusion technology to provide a solution to their challenges. They started playing with multiple design iterations of functional prototypes to optimize their headset design, and were able to gain significant savings in cost and lead times over their previous prototyping and manufacturing processes. “We took all of our gravity cast parts and switched them to HP Multi Jet Fusion because there were a lot more possibilities with it... we even started making some of our molds out of HP MJF because it was consistent and it lasted longer than what we were using previously. We really tried to focus on using HP Multi Jet Fusion for all parts of our manufacturing."

CGX now manufactures 95% of their headset parts with Multi Jet Fusion. Because the same technology is used for prototyping and manufacturing they can easily modify their products as they go. “We can... rapidly design because we’re not putting time and dollars into molds or tooling, so we’re able to modify our headset designs for continual improvement”. 

Another benefit is the robust and flexible nature of the materials, which can stand up to long-term wear and tear. “HP MJF has really helped. When you design correctly, it’s basically indestructible. That really helps us improve our overall design. Our first-generation EEG was heavier, less elegant, and could become uncomfortable for sensitive subjects. Our new designs are significantly more user friendly.” 

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Other benefits CGX experienced with Multi Jet Fusion are speed and efficiency of production. Their labor hours were cut in half from 30 hours to 15 hours, while designing more sophisticated parts with more features than they could with other manufacturing technologies. “HP MJF changed our business. We are able to design and
produce far more sophisticated devices while reducing design and manufacturing time by almost 50%.