Manufacture by selective laser melting and mechanical behavior of a biomedical Ti–24Nb–4Zr–8Sn alloy

In this paper, we present the results of using selective laser melting (SLM) to produce biomedical beta Ti–24Nb–4Zr–8Sn components, including the manufacture of a sample acetabular cup. The density of the material increases with increasing incident laser energy (i.e. decreasing laser scan speed) and reaches a near full density value of >99% without any post-processing. The mechanical properties of the as-processed material are also compared to those of conventionally processed material.

► Low-modulus biomedical beta titanium components were produced by selective laser melting.
► The density of the material increases with increasing laser energy and is >99%.
► The produced material has similar mechanical properties as by traditional routes.
► An example of acetabular hip cup compete with complex outer scaffold structure was produced.