Abstract
Tantalum is a refractory metal with a melting point of 2996°C but it offers outstanding biocompatibility for bone implant applications. In this study, the selective electron beam melting (SEBM) process was used for the first time to fabricate both dense and fine lattice tantalum structures. The use of 90-ppm-oxygen Ta powder for SEBM ensured excellent ductility of the as-printed fine Ta lattice implants with strut diameter of just 350 μm. The as-printed dense Ta samples (99.90%) achieved tensile ductility of 45% compared with the minimum requirement of 25% by ISO 13782 and the reported 2% fabricated by SLM using 1800-ppm-oxygen Ta powder. Since 2016, 27 clinical applications have been achieved in China using the custom-designed and SEBM-printed Ta implants by the authors of this study. All these Ta implants (mostly Ta lattice structures) have performed satisfactorily in patients’ bodies so far. Three selected clinical applications, Ta lattice hip, fibula and femur implants, are briefly discussed in this article.
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