Product Code: ICA10_1404

Selective Laser Sintering of Calcium Polyphosphate - Polyvinyl Alcohol for Biomedical Applications
Authors:
Yaser Shanjani, Rapid Protyping Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo; Waterloo ON Canada
Andrew Pinkerton, Laser Processing Research Centre School of Mechanical. Aerospace and Civil Engineering. The University of Manchester; Manchester Great Britain
Ehsan Toyserkani, Rapid Protyping Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo; Waterloo ON Canada
Presented at ICALEO 2010

It is widely recognised that layered manufacturing techniques have the potential to make an important contribution in medicine. One of the most exciting areas of their application is in production of the bone-interfacing implants currently used in orthopaedics and dentistry. This work studies the laser processing of Calcium Polyphosphate (CPP) and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) to make structures with possible application in such areas. An experimental study of the creation of the green part is performed to identify the effects of different process parameters, a finite element model of the process is derived, and results from the two are compared. The work indicates that some part characteristics can be predicted and optimised by the model; however, the proportion of CPP in the composite must be taken into account.