THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LOW COST MANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION OF HIGH QUALITY TITANIUM SURGICAL IMPLANT COMPONENTS

ADVANCES IN TITANIUM ALLOY POWDER METALLURGY (P/M), UTILIZING HIGH PURITY STARTING POWDERS, HAVE RESULTED IN STATIC AND DYNAMIC MECHANICAL PROPERTIES COMPARABLE TO WROUGHT TITANIUM ALLOYS. THE DEVELOPMENTS OVERCOME EARLIER LIMITATIONS IN FATIGUE RESISTANCE WHICH RESTRICTED P/M TITANIUM USAGE FROM THE DEMANDING REQUIREMENTS OF SURGICAL IMPLANTS. DUE TO THE INHERENT ECONOMIES OF P/M PROCESSES, P/M TITANIUM ALLOYS NOW OFFER A POTENTIAL ROUTE TO LOW COST SURGICAL IMPLANTS, CONSISTANT WITH CURRENT NATIONAL GOALS FOR COST REDUCTION IN BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO PRODUCE SURGICAL IMPLANTS AT SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER COST AND WITH EQUIVALENT QUALITY, INCLUDING BIOCOMPATIBILITY AND FATIGUE RESISTANCE, TO WROUGHT TITANIUM. IN PHASE 1, DYNAMET TECHNOLOGY WILL UNDERTAKE A COOPERATIVE PROGRAM IN WHICH IT WILL PRODUCE TITANIUM ALLOY TEST MATERIALS AND PROTOTYPE FEMORAL (HIP) STEM PREFORMS, AND SMITH & NEPHEW RICHARDS, A MANUFACTURER OF BIOMEDICAL IMPLANTS, WILL CONTRIBUTE TESTING AND PROPERTY EVALUATION. DYNAMET WILL FABRICATE HIP STEM PREFORMS BY ITS ADVANCED P/M CHIP AND CHIP PLUS FORGE PROCESSES FROM TWO ALLOYS; TI-6A1-4V AND AN EXPERIMENTAL ALLOY SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A HIGHER LEVEL OF BIOCOMPATIBILITY. TELEDYNE PORTLAND FORGE WILL CONTRIBUTE FORGING PROCESSING FOR THIS PROGRAM. EVALUATION WILL CONSIST OF TENSILE AND FATIGUE TESTING AND METALLOGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION. IN ADDITION, A PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC STUDY WILL BE CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE THE COST SAVING POTENTIAL OF NEAR-NET-SHAPE CHIP MANUFACTURE COMPARED TO NET SHAPE FORGING FROM A P/M PERFORM.