**Author details**

with 100% density of the material) and an area with a controlled porosity given by the

 **Figure 26.** (a) Lattice structure (2x), (b) welding lines (25x) of the customized medical implant made by SLM.

medical implant onto the femoral head.

**3.6. Conclusions**

182 New Trends in 3D Printing

implant within the osseointegration process, at the end.

As it is possible to observe in **Figure 26.a**, the laser beam has followed very accurately the geometrical path of the bore that was designed for fixing the implant with screws. The density in this area is 100%, conferring a higher mechanical strength that is required for fixing the

By zooming in the image of the analyzed area, as it is possible to observe in **Figure 26.b**, the size and the distribution of the pores resulted in the structure of the material was homogenous and uniformly distributed (wall thickness of the cells was approximately 1 mm), an aspect that is important for the future proliferation of the human tissue within the structure of the medical

As it was possible to observe by analyzing the results obtained after the finite element analyses, the sample with the cells having a rhombic shape has proved to be optimal from the mechanical resistance point of view as compared to the results obtained in the case of the other analyzed samples. Taking into account the obtained results, a customized medical implant was manu‐ factured by SLM from TiAl6V4 material for a German Medical Institute, using the SLM 250 HL equipment from SLM Solutions GmbH Company from Luebeck. A metallographic analysis of the medical implant was made using the JSM-5600 LV (JEOL) Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, proving the fact that the laser beam has followed very accurately the geometrical path of the bore that was designed for fixing the implant with screws, and that the size and the distribution of the pores resulted in the structure of the material which is homogenous and uniform, with positive consequences for the future proliferation of the human tissue within the structure of the medical implant within the osseointegration process. Further researches are required to be done in the future regarding the possibilities of manufacturing customized medical implants with a well-controlled level of porosity, made from new types of biocompatible materials (e.g. titanium samples coated

geometrical shape of the lattice structure, as it is possible to observe in **Figure 26**.

Pacurar Razvan\* and Pacurar Ancuta

\*Address all correspondence to: razvan.pacurar@tcm.utcluj.ro, ancuta.costea@tcm.utcluj.ro

Faculty of Machine Building, Department of Manufacturing Engineering, The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
