3D printing as an efficient way for comparative study of biomimetic structures — trabecular bone and honeycomb

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The mechanical properties of engineered trabecular bone and honeycomb structures are investigated by the combined use of the 3D printing technology and the compression test. The engineered trabecular bone structure is designed randomly to mimic the dynamic growth of bone structure for withstanding different types of daily loadings. The designed structures are fabricated using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). A representation of bone marrow, milk containing 0.5% fat which has a density similar to that of the marrow in the long bone, is also added into the engineered trabecular bone structure to fill the porous spaces within the structure for two cases - confined and unconfined environments. This is intended to probe the mechanical contribution of bone marrow to the strength characteristics of the engineered trabecular bone. The results show that the trabecular bone structure could serve as an ideal structure if its application requires high elasticity whereas the honeycomb structure would be ideal for an application that requires higher strength and toughness. Also it is shown that the bone marrow contributes positively to transferring some of the loading on the trabecular bone to other parts of the body. Besides, the comparison of the results with those by the previous studies show that the 3D printing technology could be utilized as an efficient way for comparative study of biomimetic structures.