Electron Beam Melting with Titanium Alloy for Orthopaedic Applications

Ti-6Al-4V具有比强度高、耐腐蚀、生物相容性好等优点，是一种常用的高规格金属合金。这种特性的组合使其在颌面和肌肉骨骼植入物的医疗行业中需求量很大，在这些行业中，承受反复载荷的需求对产品功能至关重要。然而，疲劳强度受到产品内部孔隙率的不利影响。该项目将分析与电子束熔化粉末床增材制造过程相关的变量，并将这些变量与孔隙率联系起来。目的是建立关于孔隙度来源的知识，这些知识可以在质量体系中实施，以避免孔隙度的产生，允许在批次之间创建可重复的特性，建立高性能功能性植入物的标准化工艺。

Ti-6Al-4V is a commonly used high specification metal alloy due to its high specific strength, corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility. This combination of properties makes it high in demand in the medical industry for maxillofacial and musculoskeletal implants, where the need to withstand repeated loading is essential for product function.However, the fatigue strength is detrimentally affected by porosity found within products. This project will analyse variables associated with the Electron Beam Melting powder bed additive manufacture process and relate these to porosity. The aim is to establish knowledge on the sources of porosity which can be implemented within a quality system to avoid the creation of porosity, allowing the creation of repeatable properties from batch to batch, establishing a standardised process for high performance functional implants.