Improving Surface Roughness of Ti6Al4V TPMS Lattice Structures Manufactured Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion
摘要
The laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing has garnered significant attention for development of near net shaped complex lattice structures especially useful in medical industry. The incorporation of the lattice features into the implant not only helps in matching the strength of implant with the bone but also improves the implant-bone integration properties. However, parts manufactured using L-PBF process lead to generation of surface defects that can have a deteriorating impact on the mechanical and biological behavior of the implant. Hence, it is imperative to counter these surface imperfections by using suitable post-processing. In present work, we investigated the use of electropolishing technique for surface modification of Ti-6Al-4V Triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) lattice structure of varied cell sizes (700, 900, and 1100 µm). The electropolishing was performed in a methanolic solution of perchloric acid which was maintained at a temperature around − 10 °C. The surface and morphological properties of treated samples was studied and the impact of variation in cell size was examined. The process was found to be successful in eliminating the partially melted powder particles adhering to the surface. The removal of material through the intricacies of the lattice was fairly uniform for lattice of higher cell size. However, the morphology of the lattices was altered only at micro level so as to not largely impacting the mechanical properties.