Parametric compensation scheme for increasing the geometrical accuracy of lattice structures in medical implants produced by powder bed fusion

Powder bed fusion of metals by laser beam enables the production of porous lattice structures that facilitate bone ingrowth and the vascularization of medical implants. Comprehensive implementation is currently limited by the medium reproducibility of porous structures with insufficient dimensional accuracy. Therefore strategies for minimizing geometrical mismatch and roughness are investigated by way of experiment. A parametric compensation scheme that takes into account the melt pool depth of the struts' downskins in reducing the geometric mismatch between as-designed and as-built lattice structures is proposed. Build angles of 10° with respect to the platform were created without support structures.