Research on Mechanical Characteristics of 3D-Printed PEEK Material-Based Lattice Structures for Vertebral Implants

The paper is focused on the designing of one vertebral implant by using lattice structures to facilitate bone growth, implant that is aimed to be made of Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) material by using Fused Deposition Modeling technology. Three implant variants have been designed with lattice structures and based on the Finite element analyses and compression tests that have been conducted in case of samples that have been made of PEEK material using Fused Deposition Modeling technology it has been concluded that the “Body Centered Cubic” is optimal choice to be selected in this case from the mechanical point of view. PEEK material characteristics were analyzed through compression and hardness measurements, the experimental results that have been reached revealing lower hardness than the one of the bone. Based on the reached results, finally it has been successfully manufactured a prototype of a vertebral implant, highlighting the suitability of PEEK material for its mechanical properties for realizing of vertebral implants by Fused Deposition Modeling technology.