Selective Laser Melting: A regular unit cell approach for the manufacture of porous, titanium, bone in‐growth constructs, suitable for orthopedic applications

TLDR

The study designs, fabricates, and evaluates a novel porous titanium structure intended for bone in‑growth, with properties tailored to match human bone. Selective laser melting using a regular unit cell design was employed to produce and characterize constructs varying in unit cell size, strand diameter, porosity, and compression strength. The constructs exhibited porosity and compression strength ranging from 10–95 % and 0.5–350 MPa, respectively, matching the natural bone spectrum, and optimized designs met criteria suitable for bone in‑growth and orthopedic device production. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2009.

Abstract

Abstract In this study, a novel porous titanium structure for the purpose of bone in‐growth has been designed, manufactured and evaluated. The structure was produced by Selective Laser Melting (SLM); a rapid manufacturing process capable of producing highly intricate, functionally graded parts. The technique described utilizes an approach based on a defined regular unit cell to design and produce structures with a large range of both physical and mechanical properties. These properties can be tailored to suit specific requirements; in particular, functionally graded structures with bone in‐growth surfaces exhibiting properties comparable to those of human bone have been manufactured. The structures were manufactured and characterized by unit cell size, strand diameter, porosity, and compression strength. They exhibited a porosity (10–95%) dependant compression strength (0.5–350 Mpa) comparable to the typical naturally occurring range. It is also demonstrated that optimized structures have been produced that possesses ideal qualities for bone in‐growth applications and that these structures can be applied in the production of orthopedic devices. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2009