Mid Sweden University

The Free Form Fabrication Process (FFF) is nowadays an accepted technology widely used for prototyping and manufacturing. However, it is still in an expansive phase and new applications like direct manufacturing of implants are evolving continuously. Present work describes the possibilities provided by the electron beam melting (EBM) method for orthopedics; in particular hip stem implant manufacturing. The conventional machining used for individually adapted prostheses typically involves advanced milling with the drawback of removing up to 80% of the material. This paper addresses the economic feasibility of using an additive approach for the manufacturing of typical orthopedic implants. The studied implants were manufactured from biocompatible Ti-6Al-4V alloy using both EBM and conventional CNC technologies and compared according to material consumption, manufacturing time and cost.