About
Mr
Christopher O'Hara
Commercialisation Researcher
ATU
An I-Form researcher based at Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Sligo. With extensive industry experience across a range of manufacturing and research-related projects, including the design of medical devices and public transport vehicles, moving later to a focus on the design and application of high-volume advanced manufacturing processes and tooling in the medical device and pharmaceutical sectors. His current research area is in the post-processing of metal additively manufactured (AM) surfaces for precision engineering applications, including biomedical implants. Past research was into smart injection mould cavities fabricated by metal AM, including conformal cooling channels, lightweight, and embedded industrial and novel sensors whilst developing post-processing strategies for the AM cavities.
Research Interests (Lay Summary)
Research interests include design for manufacture, optimisation, and application of advanced manufacturing processes, particularly in medical device technologies. Focus areas encompass additive manufacturing, milling, turning, laser cutting, electric discharge machining, and advanced surface finishing and manufacturing technologies. The research addresses the challenges of complex tissue interfacing features in metal additively manufactured implantable medical devices, necessitating specific material and surface characteristics. Christopher's current research builds upon previous post-processing research to enhance engineered surfaces for improved implant functionality.
Technical Summary
AM parts, vital in aerospace and medical devices, often suffer from dimensional inaccuracies and surface property challenges, impacting functionality. Surface roughness and material microstructure crucially affect performance under service conditions, influencing fatigue strength, friction coefficient, corrosion, and surface energy. This project compares Laser Surface Polishing (LSP), Electropolishing (EP), and Abrasive Fluid Polishing (AFP) for finishing PBF-LB-produced NiTi and Ti-6Al-4V parts, aiming to define a processing strategy for a range of surface finishes ranging from ultra-smooth to custom engineered rough surfaces with opportunities for improved corrosion resistance and fatigue strength, potentially enhancing performance by 20%.