Fabricating Functional Ti-Alloy Biomedical Implants by Additive Manufacturing Using Electron Beam Melting

A wide range of biocompatible and biofunctional implant devices from dental screw posts to porous hip stems designed for stress compatibility, cementless fixation by bone cell ingrowth, and long-term infection defense employing antibacterial, nanoparticulate silver are illustrated in this review of contemporary biomaterial appliances. Emphasis is placed on Ti-6Al-4V, but new alloys providing low Young’s modulus for stress-shielding reduction as well as Co-base alloys are highlighted. Open-cellular structure monoliths fabricated by additive manufacturing using electron beam melting are illustrated along with observations of their microstructures observed by light optical and electron microscopies and associated mechanical properties; including hardness, tensile and fatigue strength.