Selective Laser Melting of Ti6Al4V Lattice Structures for Bone Implants

As the 3D printing technology moves forward, new materials and designs with complicated features come alive. This PhD project aimed to investigate novel porous designs for orthopedic implants. Complex lattice scaffolds were fabricated by selective laser melting technology with Titanium-6-Aluminium-4-Vanadium alloy and characterised to optimise their morphological, mechanical and biological performance. The designs include functionally gradient and hollow-beam lattice structures. Furthermore, an alternative processing strategy, namely single point exposure, was investigated. This thesis contributes to the field of next-generation additively manufactured customised orthopedic implants that can mimic the host bone and can be further functionalised.