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The influence of laser surface remelting on the in vitro cell viability of additively manufactured Ti–6Al–4V plates

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Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, for instance, selective laser melting (SLM), have been used to produce orthopaedic metal implants to cater to the customised bone replacement needs of patients. The as-built implants fabricated by SLM are limited by the surface asperities and surface defects introduced by the layered deposition process, thus post-processes must be adopted to address these problems. As one of the potential post-processes to improve the surface quality, laser surface remelting (LSR) can be applied to eliminate surface pores and residual powder by remelting them into a thin and dense surface layer over the substrate. In this study, a 1064 nm wavelength, 100 W, nanosecond-pulsed fibre laser was used to remelt the surfaces of a cuboid Ti-6Al-4 V test plate placed in argon gas protection. A dense, pore-free and crack-free surface layer of over 300 µm in thickness was formed, demonstrating a phase transition from α + β to α′ phase Ti after the LSR process. Subsequent in vitro cell viability tests presented an improvement of human osteoblast-like SAOS2 cells’ viability subject to the LSR, which could be linked to the laser-remelted surface layer essentially slowing down the release of toxic vanadium ions. The results demonstrated a potential of the LSR technique to improve the biocompatibility of SLM produced Ti–6Al–4V implants in vivo.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Wenhe Feng, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), Singapore. Grant No. 2019059. The authors would like to thank Michael Chung Jiunn Jye of National University of Singapore (NUS) Centre for Additive Manufacturing for discussions and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Research Entities, 2 Fusionopolis Way, #08-04 Innovis, Singapore, 138634, Singapore

    Wenhe Feng, Fei Weng, Jinlong Su & Paul Guang Hui Lim

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, #07-08 Block EA, Singapore, 117575, Singapore

    Niyou Wang & Lina Yan

  3. Division of Musculoskeletal Trauma, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUHS Tower Block Level 11, National University Hospital, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore

    Gavin Kane O’Neill

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  1. Wenhe Feng
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Correspondence to Wenhe Feng.

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Feng, W., Wang, N., Weng, F. et al. The influence of laser surface remelting on the in vitro cell viability of additively manufactured Ti–6Al–4V plates. Prog Addit Manuf 8, 997–1005 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40964-022-00372-w

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