Effect of material, process parameters, and simulated body fluids on mechanical properties of 13-93 bioactive glass porous constructs made by selective laser sintering

The effect of particle size distribution, binder content, processing parameters, and sintering schedule on the microstructure and mechanical properties of porous constructs was investigated. The porous constructs were produced by indirect selective laser sintering (SLS) of 13-93 bioactive glass using stearic acid as a polymeric binder. The binder content and d50 particle size in the feedstock powders were simultaneously reduced from 22 to 12 wt% and from 20 to 11 μm, respectively, to identify the minimum binder content required for the SLS fabrication. An average particle size of ∼16 μm with a binder content of 15 wt% significantly reduced post-processing time and improved mechanical properties. Increasing the laser power and scan speed at the energy density of 1 cal/cm2 maintained the feature sharpness of the parts during the fabrication of green parts and could almost double the mechanical properties of the sintered parts. Changes in the heating rates, ranging from 0.1 to 2 °C/min, during the post-processing of the fabricated “green” scaffolds showed that the heating rate significantly affects the densification and mechanical properties of the sintered scaffolds. The compressive strength of the scaffolds manufactured with the optimized parameters varied from 41 MPa, for a scaffold with a porosity of ∼50%, to 157 MPa, for a dense part. The bioactive scaffolds soaked in simulated body fluids for durations up to 6 weeks were used to evaluate the change in mechanical properties in vitro.

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► Significant presence of particles (<5 μm) caused difficulty during SLS fabrication.
► Improved results with a d50 particle size of ∼16 μm and a lower binder content.
► Increased laser power and beam speed at a minimum required constant energy density.
► Improved densification in the porous parts without affecting design features.
► HA formation and high strength of scaffolds after 6 weeks of immersion in SBF.