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Processing a biocompatible Ti–35Nb–7Zr–5Ta alloy by selective laser melting

  • Biomedical Materials, Regenerative Medicine and Drug Delivery
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Abstract

The Ti–35Nb–7Zr–5Ta (TNZT) alloy is a promising alloy because of its biocompatibility, high specific strength, and low Young’s modulus. This work aimed at investigating the viability to process the TNZT alloy by selective laser melting (SLM) and at optimizing the processing parameters to obtain densified bulk samples. The single-track approach was first used, and the optimized laser parameters were determined to produce bulk samples with a relative density of 99.0% when an energy input of 58.3 J/mm3 was used. The effect of porosity on mechanical properties was studied, and the as-built SLM samples presented slightly lower compressive strength than samples produced by Cu-mould suction casting, as a result of a columnar grain structure in the SLMed samples. Prototypes were manufactured, proving the feasibility of manufacturing parts of the TNZT alloy with complex geometry by SLM.

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Acknowledgments

THe authors thank Dr. K. Kosiba, Dr. U. Kühn, Dr. H. Schwab, Dr. O. Ertugrul, Dr. O. Salman, and Dr. A. Funk for fruitful discussions and E. D’Almeida, B. Bartusch, C. Mix, H. Merker, and S. Donath for technical assistance. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES)–Finance Code 001. This study was financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES), and German Research Foundation (DFG) through the BRAGECRIM collaboration project (CAPES BEX 7185/13-8 and DFG PA 2275/4-1), and by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) under the Thematic Project No. 2013/05987-8 and Young Research Project No. 2017/27031-4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, 13.565-905, Brazil

    Rodolfo Lisboa Batalha, Weverson Capute Batalha, Claudio Shyinti Kiminami & Piter Gargarella

  2. Institute for Complex Materials, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Dresden, D-01069, Germany

    Rodolfo Lisboa Batalha, Liang Deng & Simon Pauly

  3. Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, Dresden, 01187, Germany

    Tobias Gustmann

  4. Faculty of Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Aschaffenburg, Würzburger, Aschaffenburg, D-63743, Germany

    Simon Pauly

  5. Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, 13.565-905, Brazil

    Claudio Shyinti Kiminami & Piter Gargarella

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  1. Rodolfo Lisboa Batalha
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  2. Weverson Capute Batalha
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Correspondence to Rodolfo Lisboa Batalha.

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Batalha, R.L., Batalha, W.C., Deng, L. et al. Processing a biocompatible Ti–35Nb–7Zr–5Ta alloy by selective laser melting. Journal of Materials Research 35, 1143–1153 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2020.90

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2020.90

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