Production of thin shell clavicle implants through Single Point Incremental Forming

The expanding demand for discrete freeform parts in bio-medical applications emphasizes the need for flexible production processes like Single Point Incremental Forming. This paper presents the specific challenges encountered during the design and fabrication of clavicle implants using medical grade titanium sheets. The fracture fixation and bone aligning task of these implants call for specific accuracy distribution, while the distinct geometry and post forming heat treatment influence production accuracy. The design potential for these implants considering forming angles of titanium grade 2 and soft tissue interactions are discussed. A generic case for the design, forming, heat treatment and trimming of a Titanium clavicle fixation plate is presented. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.