A. Jahn
H. Li
N. Emminghaus
T. Melnyk
J. Hermsdorf
S. Kaierle

Towards experimental process parameter development for Ti-6Al-4V TPMS lattice structures with application to small scale dental implants using micrographs

Proceedings of the 34th Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium - An Additive Manufacturing Conference
2023
Type: Zeitschriftenaufsatz (reviewed)
Abstract
Ti-6Al-4V is a widely used alloy in implant engineering and lattice structures can be applied to locally match the stiffness of the implant to the stiffness of bone. Triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures are popular due to their curved surface, which supports a good manufacturability and osseointegration of the implant. Tests with different TPMS structures showed a strong interaction between design factors and manufacturing parameters resulting in the need for individual parameter development. However, to the best of our knowledge, the most work in the current literature focusses on mechanical and biological examinations of TPMS structures manufactured with standard parameters. As process parameters influence the structural properties, the optimum values for further analysis may not have been investigated (e.g., their influence on microstructure and mechanical properties). In this work, a design of experiments approach is used to develop process parameters. As computer tomography scans are resource intensive for large scale parameter development, a sparser approach using micrographs for porosity analysis is introduced. Small structures with unit cell size as small as 1.0 mm are fabricated on a laser powder bed fusion industrial machine. Our initial studies show that the design factor pore size is negligible in comparison to wall thickness when optimiĀ¬zing internal porosity.