Emerging Trends of Digital Manufacturing in Bioimplants

Industry 4.0 has seen a significant shift in the manufacturing of metallic biomaterials, which are used to manufacture devices and products for biomedical sector applications, owing to the emergence of digital manufacturing technologies like 3D printing. Compared to conventional fabrication techniques, 3D printing techniques allow the fabrication of metallic materials that are extremely specific and inexpensive. In this context, this paper focuses on the design, manufacturing, and analysis of SS316L powder stents using Selective Laser Melting (SLM). However, the stent design and its manufacturing process viability were examined using Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) tools such as CREO, Materialize Magics, and EOSTATE software. Further, the laser power and scan speed were selected as SLM input parameters, and their results were evaluated in terms of surface roughness parameters, surface topography, and geometrical features. Findings indicated that the obtained values of Ra 0.484 μm, Rq 0.560 μm, Rt 2.789 μm, and Rz 1.98 μm were within an acceptable range. SEM analysis of the resulting surface topography supported these findings. The overall study shows that Industry 4.0 digital techniques, like SLM, are an emerging approach to manufacturing bio-implants.