Renishaw is one of those companies that seems to be everywhere in the additive manufacturing world. The global corporation has been involved in everything from aerospace to yacht construction, but one of their biggest focus areas has always been the medical field. That focus area is about to get much bigger, too, thanks to a new dedicated healthcare manufacturing facility opening in Wales.

The Renishaw Healthcare Centre for Excellence was formally opened on Sepetmber 29 in the Welsh town of Miskin, not far from Cardiff. It will be a combination manufacturing facility and training center, with highlights that include a mock operating theatre where surgeons can be trained in complex stereotactic neurosurgery procedures using Renishaw’s neurological projects. The theatre includes all the features of a real-life operating theatre, including lead lining for X-ray protection, so surgeons can train in a realistic setting without having to worry about maintaining a sterile environment. Video and audio technology is also installed for the purpose of live streaming training procedures to anywhere from the adjacent operating theatre to an overseas neurological support team.

Stereotactic neurosurgery is a minimally invasive technique of operating on the brain, commonly used in deep brain stimulation, biopsies and stereoelectroencephalography. It’s an area of specialty for Renishaw, which produces a wide range of medical and dental tools and devices, many of them additively manufactured. The company is a leader in metal additive manufacturing, and the new facility will include a manufacturing center for the production of Class 3 custom 3D printed medical devices under an ISO13485 quality management system. 3D printed parts will include patient-specific cranio-maxillofacial implants, jigs, guides and dental frameworks.

The Renishaw Healthcare Centre for Excellence is adjacent to the company’s main Welsh manufacturing operation, a 450,000-square-foot facility that was purchased from Robert Bosch Limited in 2011, refurbished and opened in October 2012. The facility is where the manufacture of Renishaw’s metal 3D printing systems takes place, as well as additional healthcare research and development and the manufacture of metal components and electronic sub-assemblies.