Search for content and authors
 

Selective laser sintering of magnesium powders for fabrication of porous structures

Chi Chung Ng 

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom 00852, Hong Kong

Abstract

Porous biomaterials, has drawn much attention recently, because of their utility in advanced practical applications in biomedical industry such as bioactive implants and tissue scaffolds. Among different engineering methods for the fabrication of porous structure compacts for biological implants, the direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technique is of particular interest due to its flexibility in materials, capability of fabricating 3D geometrically complex shapes and, most importantly, controllability of internal porous structures using appropriate processing parameters. In past decades, considerable research effort has been reported in the area of direct metal laser sintering. However, rarely work has previously been found on the laser sintering of magnesium powder, which may mainly due to the restriction of its highly flammable characteristic in ambient environments. Magnesium possess of excellent strength to weight ratio, good mechanical properties and high degree of biocompatibility, making it become a potential candidate for the fabrication of biological implants. The novelty of the present research lies in the fabrication of porous structures by laser sintering of magnesium powder using a continuous wave (CW) fiber laser. The laser sintering of single tracks and single layers of magnesium powders were carried out for the determination of process feasibility and the effects of various processing parameters such as laser power, scan rate, scan line spacing on the microstructural features and mechanical properties of porous structures have also been investigated. These results let us understand the microstructural evolution of magnesium powder under a continuous wave (CW) fiber laser in various processing parameters, which would enable the fabrication of porous structures for biological implants in the cheapest and quickest way, whilst achieving superior quality for the laser sintered parts.

 

Legal notice
  • Legal notice:
 

Presentation: Poster at E-MRS Fall Meeting 2009, Symposium I, by Chi Chung Ng
See On-line Journal of E-MRS Fall Meeting 2009

Submitted: 2009-05-10 15:08
Revised:   2009-06-07 00:48