Additive Manufacturing adopted for custom titanium medical implants
March 17, 2025
Eplus3D, based in Hangzhou, China, has reported on its progress working with a customer to advance the use of metal Additive Manufacturing for medical implant solutions.
Metal AM offers significant advantages in osteosynthesis, a surgical method for fixing bone fragments. Additive Manufacturing allows for the creation of customised plates, screws, and other retainers that perfectly match each patient’s anatomical features. This ensures secure fixation and accelerates the healing process.
A developer and manufacturer of implants for spinal surgery, neurosurgery, and osteosynthesis faced significant challenges in producing shoulder arthrodesis plates, explains Eplus3D. These devices are used to resect the humeral head in cases of shoulder ligament damage.
Manufacturing these products using traditional methods is a challenge because it involves additional time and resources to design and build specialised tooling. At the same time, difficulties arise with such complex geometry. In addition to machining, bending operations are often required, but this technology is not very accurate and does not guarantee the necessary degree of repeatability.
Solution: metal Powder Bed Fusion technology
The use of Additive Manufacturing technology allowed a fully functional prototype of the product to be created in a short period of time. In addition, it has significantly reduced the cost of developing a prosthetic prototype.
Eplus3D used its EP-M260 AM machine to manufacture the shoulder arthrodesis plates. The EP-M260 is a medium-sized laser based metal powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing machine with a build volume of 260 mm x 260 mm x 390 mm. It supports both single-laser and dual-laser configurations and can process a variety of high-performance materials, including titanium alloys, stainless steel, and aluminium alloys.
Manufacturing process
The selected material for the production of shoulder arthrodesis plates was titanium alloy VT6, certified for medical use. The part, measuring 25 cm in length with a layer height of 30 μm, took about twelve hours to manufacture.
At the end of the build process, the product was heat treated at around 700°C for two hours to relieve residual stresses. The supporting structures were then removed with hand tools and sandblasted.
Although tapered threads are present in the product, they were removed from the 3D model for more accurate cutting by traditional machining methods. During melting, shrinkage and deformation can occur due to thermal expansion and contraction. This can affect the shape and size of the thread and make it uneven.
In this situation, the most reliable and accurate way to create threads on metal parts is to design holes with a certain diameter. The threads can then be cut either by CNC or by hand. This ensures that it has a smooth surface and accurate dimensions that meet standard specifications.
Technical advantages of the EP-M260
The EP-M260 AM machine is well-suited for medical and industrial applications. Its high-density manufacturing capability achieves material densities of up to 99.9% for maximum strength and reliability. Its dual-laser system and optimised layer application strategy are reported to significantly enhance manufacturing speed and efficiency, while the intelligent monitoring system ensures consistent quality through real-time process control. The machine supports a wide range of biocompatible materials, including titanium and stainless steel, and is ideal for producing medium-sized, highly customised parts with complex geometries.
