Distance-controlled direct ink writing of titanium alloy with enhanced shape diversity and controllable porosity

作者：Erick R. Bandala, Lily Raymond, Kellen Mitchell, Fazlay Rubbi, John Samuel Thella, Bankole Osho, Amanendra K. Kushwaha, Mohammadreza Elahifard, Ji Su, Xing Zhang, Pradeep L. Menezes, Xiaoliang Wang, Pengbo Chu, Yiliang Liao, Yifei Jin · 发表于：npj Advanced Manufacturing · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s44334-025-00016-1 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies、Metal Forming Simulation Techniques、Cellular and Composite Structures

Porous titanium alloys have been extensively used for diverse engineering applications. However, current additive manufacturing (AM) strategies face significant challenges (e.g., low fabrication efficiency and limited shape diversity) in producing porous titanium alloys. This work aims to develop a distance-controlled direct ink writing (DC-DIW) approach for constructing macroscale 3D architectures from titanium alloy powders. This approach integrates a constant interlayer distance control with traditional DIW, breaking through the angle limit in current porous metal printing from 60° to 30°. Additionally, subsequent heat treatment is applied to control microstructures. To demonstrate the capabilities of this approach, three representative structures, including a bifurcated tube, an orbital implant, and a knee implant, are successfully printed and treated, achieving suitable mechanical properties and high shape fidelity. This work provides a viable and efficient AM strategy for fabricating porous titanium alloys with enhanced shape diversity and controllable porosity suitable for various engineering applications.