Biomedical titanium alloy materials have become the main raw materials needed in the global surgical implantation and orthopedics products. The 3D printing technology can customize the biomedical materials according to the needs of different patients, and control the microstructure precisely. Therefore, the combination of this emerging technology and biomedical materials is a major research trend in the future biological histological engineering. In recent years, different medical materials have been prepared by 3D printing technology for animal tissue repair and other experiments. In this paper, the research status and progress of 3D printed titanium alloy biomaterials are briefly reviewed.
Biomedical metallic materials are a kind of biological inert materials, which are widely used in orthopedic implants and orthopaedic instruments. At present, the commonly used medical metal materials mainly include cobalt base alloy, stainless steel and titanium base alloy, as well as memory alloy, precious metal and pure metal tantalum, niobium and zirconium. Among them, the titanium alloy due to its light weight, high strength, good corrosion resistance in the physical environment, good fatigue resistance and the advantages of low modulus of elasticity, is widely used in bearing on biomedical implants. Due to the poor matching of implants and patients in clinical practice, the operation effect and the life of implant were affected. According to the patient's condition, personalized surgical implants with specific structures and biosafety requirements have become a research focus of medical materials. Most of the existing metal implants using traditional machining method of mold, and milling to finalize the design, cutting of raw materials, the cost is used up big, long smelting process and difficulty is high, the craft is complex, to meet the individualized treatment purposes. With the rapid development of materials science and computer aided engineering, 3D printing technology provides a new way for the realization of personalized treatment.
3 d printing technology, namely a kind of rapid prototyping technology, is based on the digital model file, discrete and nc forming system by the software, using thermal spray nozzle, a laser beam to powder metal or plastic and can be layered bonding material accumulation, eventually forming to construct objects. "Layered manufacturing, layer by layer" is the core principle. Existing 3 d printing technology mainly include: electron beam melting molding (EBM), selective laser sintering (SLS), direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), melt laminated molding (FDM), laser deposition technology (LENS), three-dimensional plate printing technology (SLA), the three dimensional printing (3 dp), DLP, UV ultraviolet laser forming technology molding technology, LOM layered entity manufacturing technology, etc. The materials used in 3D printing mainly include: metal, ceramics, polymer materials, etc. After decades of development, 3D printing technology has been widely used in industrial design, automobile, aerospace, architecture, medical treatment, education and other fields. The digital manufacturing mode broke through the limitations of the traditional process, shorten the product design and production schedules, simplifies the complexity of the manufacturing, can completely meet the requirements of personalized customization service and purpose.
