THE USE OF THE Ti-13Zr-13Nb ALLOY POWDER FOR MANUFACTURING OF PROSTHETIC PARTS BY SELECTIVE LASER MELTING
TOMASZ SERAMAK
Department of Materials Engineering and Bonding, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Str. 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
KATARZYNA ZASIŃSKA
Department of Materials Engineering and Bonding, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Str. 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
ANDRZEJ ZIELIŃSKI *
Department of Materials Engineering and Bonding, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Str. 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The 3D printing is a manufacturing technique belonging to the additive methods able to prepare the designed parts for various purposes. The present reasearch was aimed to fabricate the prosthetic foundations and bridges made of the new Ti-13Zr-13Nb alloy by the selective laser melting (SLM) of a metal powder. The scanning electron examinations and micro scanning tomography were used to investigate the surface quality and intrinsic structure of obtained elements. The best results, observed imperfections and the determinants of the quality process are discussed.
Keywords: Prosthetic foundations, prosthetic bridges, rapid prototyping, selective laser melting, titanium alloys