Mid Sweden University

INTRODUCTION

Implants for arthroplasty, plates and screws for orthopedics, maxillofacial and dentistry are more frequently being customised. Ti and CoCr alloys are common materials for bone implants. Surface roughness, porosity and choice of material may have an impact on the bone ingrowth. EBM (Electron Beam Melting) is a 3D-printing technique melting metallic powder layer by layer according to the corresponding CAD (Computer Aided Design) model of implants¹.With EBM technology customised implants can be manufactured with a lower cost compared to conventional technologies². Implants for bone replacement made from CT images with EBM technology will fit accurate and lead to simpler and better planed surgeries also³. The EBM technique, as such, is always resulting with rough surface on the implants (typically 20-45µm). That roughness can be controlled, in some extent, by changing the process parameters. Some authors claim that roughened surfaces are promoting bone ingrowth⁴.

This work was aiming on the question: are EBM made surfaces good for bone ingrowth and is it possible to change the bone ingrowth by varying the machine settings? In order to answer this question a number of coin like specimens of CoCr were manufactured with the different surface roughness. The blood chamber model has shown how the first steps of bone healing were proceeding on specimen surfaces, indicating how the coagulation and complement systems can behave in vivo⁵.

EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

The manufacture of the test specimens was carried out with Arcam A2 EBM^® equipment.  Process parameters were changed in the software EBM controle⁶ and three groups of eight specimens with different parameter setting were made. The specimens were then tested with whole blood from two individuals in a modified version of the blood chamber model named above⁷. Surface roughness was characterised with a stylus profiler Dektak^® 6M.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 percents R_a (average roughness) and plt (platelets) activated for each group.

                                         Table 1

group         R_a mean      std                    plt mean   std

1              35.0µm        3.24µm           92.9%       5.25%

2              28.5µm        2.14µm           85.3%       7.61%

3              28.2µm        1.75µm           84.4%       10.3%

The results indicate that rougher surfaces are more thrombogenic which could imply that they are more suitable for bone ingrowth then smooth surfaces. Increase of total surface area (due to larger roughness) might be a reason for the improved trombogenic response.

Figure 1 shows how many platelets were stuck on the specimen surfaces. Horizontal lines represent mean values and standard deviation.

CONCLUSION

The surface properties of EBM produced implants are affected by the made parameters. The results in Figure 1 corresponds well with previous results that rougher surfaces promotes bone ingrowth⁴. The increased thrombogenicity and platelet binding with rougher surfaces indicates that EBM made surfaces can affect the final bone response and will possibly suit as implant material.

REFERENCES

1. Raennar, L.E., et al., Efficientcooling with tool inserts manufactured by electronbeam melting. Rapid Prototyping Journal. 13:128-35, 2007

2. Cronskaer, M. Applications of Electron Beam Melting to Titanium Hip Stem Implants

3. Mazzoli, A., et al., Direct fabrication through electron beam melting technology of custom cranial implants designed in a PHANToM-based haptic environment. Materials and Design. 30:318-3192, 2009

4. Frosch, K.H., et al., Metallic Biomaterials in Skeletal Rapair. Eur J Trauma. 32:149-59, 2006

5. Thor A., et al.. The role of whole blood in thrombin generation in contact with various titanium surfaces. Biomaterials. 28:966-97, 2007

6. Arcam AB (www.arcam.com)

7. Hong, J., et al., A new in vitro model to study interaction between whole blood and biomaterials. Studies of platelet and coagulation activation acid the effect of aspirin. Biomaterials. 20:603-611, 1999

Purpose-The surface roughness of products manufactured using the additive manufacturing (AM) technology of electron beam melting (EBM) has a special characteristic. Different product applications can demand rougher or finer surface structure, so the purpose of this study is to investigate the process parameters of EBM to find out how they affect surface roughness. Design/methodology/approach-EBM uses metal powder to manufacture metal parts. A design of experiment plan was used to describe the effects of the process parameters on the average surface roughness of vertical surfaces. Findings-The most important electron beam setting for surface roughness, accorDing to this study, is a combination of speed and current in the contours. The second most important parameter is contour offset. The interaction between the number of contours and contour offset also appears to be important, as it shows a much higher probability of being active than any other interaction. The results show that the line offset is not important when using contours. Research limitations/implications-This study examined contour offset, number of contours, speed in combination with current and line offset, which are process parameters controlling the electron beam. Practical implications-The surface properties could have an impact on the product's performance. A reduction in surface processing will not only save time and money but also reduce the environmental impact. Originality/value-Surface properties are important for many products. New themes containing process parameters have to be developed when introducing new materials to EBM manufacturing. During this process, it is very important to understand how the electron beam affects the melt pool.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate how as-built electron beam melting (EBM) surface properties affect the onset of blood coagulation. The properties of EBM-manufactured implant surfaces for placement have, until now, remained largely unexplored in literature. Implants with conventional designs and custom-made implants have been manufactured using EBM technology and later placed into the human body. Many of the conventional implants used today, such as dental implants, display modified surfaces to optimize bone ingrowth, whereas custom-made implants, by and large, have machined surfaces. However, titanium in itself demonstrates good material properties for the purpose of bone ingrowth. Materials and Methods: Specimens manufactured using EBM were selected according to their surface roughness and process parameters. EBM-produced specimens, conventional machined titanium surfaces, as well as PVC surfaces for control were evaluated using the slide chamber model. Results: A significant increase in activation was found, in all factors evaluated, between the machined samples and EBM-manufactured samples. The results show that EBM-manufactured implants with as-built surfaces augment the thrombogenic properties. Conclusion: EBM that uses Ti6Al4V powder appears to be a good manufacturing solution for load-bearing implants with bone anchorage. The as-built surfaces can be used "as is" for direct bone contact, although any surface treatment available for conventional implants can be performed on EBM-manufactured implants with a conventional design.

The interest in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing methods, such as electron beam melting (EBM), is increasing constantly and main business areas driving the development are aerospace and implant manufacturers. EBM manufactured parts have a rather coarse surface roughness mainly originating from the layer thickness and the powder grains melted by the electron beam. Thus, there is an interest in understanding how the surface properties influences the fatigue performance of the material. In this study, EBM manufactured Ti-6Al-4V was investigated at high cycle fatigue using rotating beam and different types of specimens regarding geometry, as-built and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) post-processing were evaluated. The results confirm that as-built surfaces affect the fatigue limit and a small size specimen geometry for rotating beam fatigue testing is proposed as a part of material and process verification.