Abstract:
Prosthetic manufacturing is one of the most challenging and versatile industry in the world. It requires manufacturing highly customized parts tailored for different people. Additive manufacturing technologies provide a highly versatile manufacturing process to manufacture components that can be tailor made to any individual’s needs.
The main problem with traditional manufacturing processes is the excessive cost of tooling. Since each implant is different it requires manufacturing tooling for that specific implant which results in extra costs which are then passed on to the customer.
In this study, the author investigates a general workflow that can be used in all types of customized parts using SLA additive manufacturing process. The workflow was tested by making a prosthetic implant. For this purpose, a CAD model was selected which was suitable to measure the dimensional accuracy and surface roughness of the 3D printed part against CAD model.
It was concluded that the relationship between layer height and accuracy and surface roughness is very linear. The lower the layer height, lower is dimensional deviation and surface roughness. The relationship between build orientation and dimensional accuracy and surface roughness is that, at 0° build orientation results in highest dimensional deviation and lowest surface roughness while the 45° build orientation results in least dimensional deviation and highest surface roughness. A simple cost analysis was also conducted. The cost of the 3D printed implant was found to be around PKR 225~300/- which is 85% less than the cost of traditional dental implant.
