Projects

Rapid and Direct Manufacturing of Both Medical Implants and Automotive
and Aerospace Mechanical Components from Titanium Based Alloys.

Principal Investigator (PI)

ABSTRACT

Titanium based alloys are superior materials and they are the best candidates for several important applications. For example, because titanium is biocompatible (non-toxic and is not rejected by the body), it is used in a gamut of medical applications including surgical implements and implants, such as hip balls that can stay in place for 20 years. In addition, due to their high tensile strength to density ratio, high corrosion resistance, and ability to withstand moderately high temperatures without creeping, titanium alloys are also used in aircraft, naval ships, spacecraft, and missiles. Unfortunately, according to the governmental statistics, every year Egypt imports large number of Titanium based medical implants. This increases due to the increase in car accidents and other medical problems in Egypt. Currently, there is no local source to supply Titanium implants in Egypt because of their high cost and manufacturing problem. For similar reasons, Egypt does not
produce Titanium based mechanical components which are the cornerstones in future aerospace and automotive industries. On the other hand, rapid prototyping and manufacturing (RPM) is a very recent manufacturing technology through which the digital computer models is instantaneously transferred to real physical objects using layer-by-layer material adding technique. The raw materials, especially metals are supplied as very fine powder layers and very fast scanning laser beam is used to melt
and join the powder particles and the layers, based on selective profiles, until the complete part is formed. RPM has proved to be very successful and efficient process to manufacture Titanium components especially parts with complicated geometries like medical implants. Supplying Titanium in the form of very fine powders overcomes the major industrial problem that Titanium alloys are very hard metals and cannot be easily shaped using traditional machining tools. Besides, using laser beam to melt and join the very fine particles (less than 30 microns) allows building free-form geometries very accurately. The Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute (CMRDI) has the unique metal RPM facilities available in Egypt and the Middle East and they have contributed to develop several research-based products using steel and stainless steel metal powders. In addition, they have all the necessary software tools to design either human-body tailored medical implants or automotive and aerospace mechanical components. Equally important, the research staff has
acquired concrete background to manufacture Titanium products through their international relations with research institutions in Germany and South Africa who are working in similar projects.