In-vitro studies of SS 316 L biomedical implants prepared by FDM, vapor smoothing and investment casting

The function of biomedical implant is to replace the biological parts/limbs in body. Among various materials, metals and alloys like titanium, stainless steel (SS) are used as biomedical implants due to their superior mechanical properties, considerable bio-compatibility and easy manufacturing. In the present study, implants of SS 316L have been made with the combination of three processes namely fused deposition modelling, vapor smoothing and investment casting. Further, in-vitro test has been performed on the implants in order to analyze it corrosion behavior and bio-compatibility, to check its applicability and to verify the effect of manufacturing processes on its corrosion properties. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.