Robin Stamp

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

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.

Selective laser melting: A unit cell approach for the manufacture of porous, titanium, bone in-growth constructs, suitable for orthopedic applications. II. Randomized structures

In this study, the unit cell approach, which has previously been demonstrated as a method of manufacturing porous components suitable for use as orthopedic implants, has been further developed to include randomized structures. These random structures may aid the bone in-growth process because of their similarity in appearance to trabecular bone and are shown to carry legacy properties that can be related back to the original unit cell on which they are ultimately based. In addition to this, it has been shown that randomization improves the mechanical properties of regular unit cell structures, resulting in anticipated improvements to both implant functionality and longevity. The study also evaluates the effect that a post process sinter cycle has on the components, outlines the improved mechanical properties that are attainable, and also the changes in both the macro and microstructure that occur.