Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

3D printing implants for fracture healing studies in rats

Horal, Malcolm LU (2015) BMEL01 20152
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Abstract
The purpose of this project was to investigate the possibility to create 3D printed implants intended for bone healing studies in small animals at the Biomechanics group at Lund University. The aim was to use cheaper but stable non metallic implants and find out what printers and materials are suitable and accessible today. An Ultimaker 2 was used to produce both nails and screws in Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and Polylactic acid (PLA) and Nylon which were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. A three point bending test and the effect subjecting them to a wet and warm environment was investigated.
It was found that the produced nails were adequate but it was not possible to produce the screws with satisfactory results with this... (More)
The purpose of this project was to investigate the possibility to create 3D printed implants intended for bone healing studies in small animals at the Biomechanics group at Lund University. The aim was to use cheaper but stable non metallic implants and find out what printers and materials are suitable and accessible today. An Ultimaker 2 was used to produce both nails and screws in Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and Polylactic acid (PLA) and Nylon which were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. A three point bending test and the effect subjecting them to a wet and warm environment was investigated.
It was found that the produced nails were adequate but it was not possible to produce the screws with satisfactory results with this specific printer. The samples made out of Nylon were generally not strong enough and lost too much stiffness when immersed in saline. The quality of the produced samples varied, and manual polishing was required to achieve the desired results. The PLA/PHA samples were sti↵ enough even after being immersed in saline. It was concluded that it is too early to start using 3D printing with this type of printer for in vivo studies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Horal, Malcolm LU
supervisor
organization
course
BMEL01 20152
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
3D printing, implants, PHA, PLA
language
English
additional info
2015-B
id
8310516
date added to LUP
2015-12-10 16:25:00
date last changed
2015-12-10 16:25:00
@misc{8310516,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this project was to investigate the possibility to create 3D printed implants intended for bone healing studies in small animals at the Biomechanics group at Lund University. The aim was to use cheaper but stable non metallic implants and find out what printers and materials are suitable and accessible today. An Ultimaker 2 was used to produce both nails and screws in Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and Polylactic acid (PLA) and Nylon which were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. A three point bending test and the effect subjecting them to a wet and warm environment was investigated.
It was found that the produced nails were adequate but it was not possible to produce the screws with satisfactory results with this specific printer. The samples made out of Nylon were generally not strong enough and lost too much stiffness when immersed in saline. The quality of the produced samples varied, and manual polishing was required to achieve the desired results. The PLA/PHA samples were sti↵ enough even after being immersed in saline. It was concluded that it is too early to start using 3D printing with this type of printer for in vivo studies.}},
  author       = {{Horal, Malcolm}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{3D printing implants for fracture healing studies in rats}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}