Abstract
2-1- Introduction
2-2- 3D printing techniques for metallic biomaterials
2-3- 3D printed metallic biomaterials
2-4- Challenges, potential and current active research in 3D printing of metallic biomaterials
2-5- Conclusion References
2-1- Introduction
Among the three-dimensional (3D) printing, or officially known as additive manufacturing (AM), techniques, the powder bed fusion (PBF) and directed energy deposition (DED) are most commonly used to process metals directly as they have the capability to produce high-quality parts that are fully dense. According to ISO/ ASTM 52900:2017, PBF is a group of AM processes in which thermal energy selectively fuses regions of a powder bed, while DED is another group of AM processes in which focused thermal energy is used to fuse materials by melting as they are being deposited. In the academia, there has been extensive studies applying 3D printing in tissue engineering (Sudarmadji et al., 2011; Yeong et al., 2009; Wiria et al., 2007; Yang et al., 2002). For example, tissue scaffolds for cardiac and bone have been fabricated successfully (Chua and Yeong, 2014; Yeong et al., 2004). These applications have mainly focused on using polymers; however, in recent years, there has been growing interest in using metallic biomaterials to create implants. This is made possible with the advancement in 3D printing and accelerated development of printable materials. In this chapter the application of these two groups of AM technologies in fabrication of metallic biomaterials is described, with specific focus on metals that are biocompatible and commonly used such as 316L stainless steel, titanium-6aluminum-4vanadium (Ti6Al4V), and cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo).