Selective laser sintering method using titanium powder sheet toward fabrication of porous bone substitutes

The present paper investigates the laser sintering of titanium sheets toward the fabrication of porous artificial bones. The novelty lies in the use of a titanium powder sheet mixed with an organic binder and the application of selective laser sintering to the fabrication of a laminated porous structure. Alternating irradiation of Nd:YAG pulses with short scanning paths results in the suppression of distortion of the sintered part as well as enhanced mechanical properties. Under the appropriate conditions identified in the experiment, a bending strength of 63 MPa and a Young's modulus of 1.5 GPa are attained when the load is applied parallel to the lamination direction, whereas load vertical to the lamination direction yields 79 MPa and 1.8 GPa, respectively. The size of pores varies from 200 to 300 μm, and the porosity is approximately 65%. These values, other than Young's modulus, are almost equivalent to those of human bones.