Selective Laser Sintering And Melting Of Pristine Titanium And Titanium Ti6Al4V Alloy Powders And Selection Of Chemical Environment For Etching Of Such Materials

Abstract

The aim of the investigations described in this article is to present a selective laser sintering and melting technology to fabricate metallic scaffolds made of pristine titanium and titanium Ti6Al4V alloy powders. Titanium scaffolds with different properties and structure were manufactured with this technique using appropriate conditions, notably laser power and laser beam size. The purpose of such elements is to replace the missing pieces of bones, mainly cranial and facial bones in the implantation treatment process. All the samples for the investigations were designed in CAD/CAM (3D MARCARM ENGINEERING AutoFab (Software for Manufacturing Applications) software suitably integrated with an SLS/SLM system. Cube-shaped test samples dimensioned 10×10×10 mm were designed for the investigations using a hexagon-shaped base cell. The so designed 3D models were transferred to the machine software and the actual rapid manufacturing process was commenced. The samples produced according to the laser sintering technology were subjected to chemical processing consisting of etching the scaffolds’ surface in different chemical mediums. Etching was carried out to remove the loosely bound powder from the surface of scaffolds, which might detach from their surface during implantation treatment and travel elsewhere in an organism. The scaffolds created were subjected to micro- and spectroscopic examinations

Fabrication Technologies of the Sintered Materials Including Materials for Medical and Dental Application

“…It is important to align the element being produced relative to the working table, for example, the best accuracy of element diameter in diferent directions can be achieved by aligning a wheel in the XY plane level and then approx. 0.5 mm thick layers can be best produced by aligning them in the Z axis, while some parts can be achieved most advantageously in a plane oriented at the angle of 45° [54,58].…”

“…For this, the expected biocompatibility of the applied powder material must be ensured and it must be possible to sterilise the ready product. Another example are own investigations [54,58] pertaining to the development of metallic microporous materials with the average size of micropores of 100 600 nm, microporous composite materials and microskeleton composite materials fabricated using hybrid rapid manufacturing technologies with selective laser sintering/selective laser melting (SLS/SLM) of titanium and TiAl6V4 alloys combined with chemical treatment, by etching the surface of porous skeletons and then covering the internal surface of micropores with biocompatible materials by atomic layer deposition ALD or by methods of immersion, pressing, sol-gel method and by iniltration [56].…”

Fabrication, Structure, Properties and Application of Gradient Sintered Carbide-Steels with HS6-5-2 Matrix

“…In bone surgery, ceramic materials with a porosity gradient can be used for fabrication of orthopaedic gradients, which are designed just like a living bone tissue [65][66][67][68][69][70].…”

“…Bioactive hydroxyapatite is responsible for a strong connection with an organic tissue in such implants, whereas titanium is used in the parts of the implant requiring high mechanical stability. Gradient and porous materials are studied in the works [66][67][68][69][70], applied for implants, implant-scaffolds and scaffolds manufactured by selective laser sintering, what is detailed in the respective chapters of this book.…”

Powder Injection Moulding of Tool Materials and Materials Containing One-Dimensional Nanostructural Elements

“…This depends on the technological process applied, for example, hardfacing, thermal spraying, or selective laser sintering [1,2] exclude the need of powder forming. Powder forming itself does of this method's popularity, because it is employed for producing small elements.…”