Laser polished fused deposition poly-lactic acid objects for personalized orthopaedic application

• Published in: SN applied sciences Vol. 2; no. 11; pp. 1838 - 10
• Main Authors: Chai, Yuan, Chen, Xiao-Bo, Zhang, Donghai, Lynch, Joseph, Birbilis, Nick, Qin, Qing-Hua, Smith, Paul N., Li, Rachel W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.11.2020; Springer Nature B.V; Springer
• Subjects: 3-D printers; 4. Materials (general); Accuracy; Applied and Technical Physics; Biocompatibility; Chemistry/Food Science; Customization; Earth Sciences; Emergency medical services; Engineering; Environment; Fused deposition; Fused deposition modelling; Lasers; Manufacturing; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Mechanical strength; Medical research; Orthopaedics; Orthopedics; Polishing; Polylactic acid; Quality standards; Research Article; Surface grinding; Surface properties; Surgical guide; Surgical instruments; Three dimensional printing; Topography; Transplants & implants; Velocity; United States > US; China; Surgical guide; Biocompatibility; Three dimensional printing; Mechanical strength; Fused deposition modelling; Orthopaedics
• ISSN: 2523-3963; 2523-3971
• DOI: 10.1007/s42452-020-03637-7

Patient-specific surgical guides are increasingly demanded. Material Extrusion (ME) is a popular 3D printing technique to fabricate personalized surgical guides. However, the ME process usually generates deleterious surface topography which is not suitable for orthopaedic emergencies. We designed and optimized parametric combinations of a laser polishing approach as post process to improve the surface quality of ME-made poly-lactic acid (PLA) objects. In this study, we investigated the contribution of processing variables to the mechanical properties and the biocompatibilities in vitro of the ME-made PLA objects. Conventional surface grinding was conducted as comparison. The results demonstrate that the ME-made PLA samples exhibit good mechanical properties and favourable biocompatibility after being post processed using laser polishing. The post laser polishing, as a powerful tool in manufacture of ME-made PLA objects, will open a new approach with a great promise in its applications in personalized and timely management of medical emergencies.