Laser powder bed fusion of AISI 316L lattice structures for biomedical applications

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a class of manufacturing technologies in which a complex part can be built directly in its final or semi-final shape through a layerwise process. These technologies enable the production of engineered materials with a high level of complexity, of which lattice structures are one of the most promising structures for several applications. On the other hand, cellular structures have been extensively studied over the last few decades, mainly owing to their unique performances in energy absorption, thermal and electrical conductivity, and acoustic. The biggest challenge in cellular solids is the replication of their cell geometries with complex shapes and often small dimensions. Therefore, AM methods that facilitate the fabrication of nature-inspired geometries devices could play a key role in developing new cellular structures for various applications. Hence, the present paper aims to manufac- ture and characterise AISI 316 L lattice structures produced by the laser powder bed fusion process. Two different types of structures are considered: the strut-based based on strut elements and the triply peri- odic minimal surfaces generated from trigonometric functions. Statistic compression tests were per- formed to investigate the influence of cell geometries, unit cell size, relative density, and volume fraction on mechanical properties, such as Youngs’ modulus, ultimate compressive strength, and the amount of energy absorbed.