A novel method of fabricating multi‐material acetabular liner using fused filament fabrication

Abstract

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) involves the replacement of damaged or worn‐out hip components with artificial implants. Frequently revision surgeries were performed due to the failure of the implant. The liners are the ones that are replaced in the majority of the revision surgeries. Researchers are constantly finding different materials to overcome the difficulties being faced. The acetabular liners are fabricated by compression molding and milling using single materials such as Polyethylene, Polyether–ether–ketone (PEEK), and recently Ultra‐High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), and so forth. Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) being biocompatible and cheaper than UHMWPE is employed in the research. The biodegradable nature of PLA is countered by introducing a nonbiodegradable yet biocompatible High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS). This research attempts to propose and fabricate a novel design of the liner with PLA sandwiched between HIPS by fused filament fabrication, the widely used additive manufacturing technique. The dimensional accuracy and surface roughness of the liners are measured and compared with single‐material liners. The multi‐material liner demonstrated superior dimensional accuracy compared to PLA liner and also exhibiting a smoother surface finish. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis is conducted to determine the capability of printing and also the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images are used for supporting the results.Highlights Novel design of Acetabular Liner. Use of additive manufacturing for fabrication of implant parts. More than one material used to reap benefits from the two materials used. Measurement of dimensional accuracy, surface roughness of multi‐material liner. Comparison of single and multi‐material liner.