Mechanical Analysis and Additive Manufacturing of 3D-Printed Lattice Materials for Bone Scaffolds

In this study, we have explored the potential application of three-dimensional (3D) lattice-structured

materials in the bone scaffold implants by investigating the mechanical strength and porosity of various

strut-based lattice designs. The aim is to propose a scaffold design that is strong enough to support the

surrounding bone structure. Furthermore, the design should be porous enough to provide effective permeability

that allows the integration of bone cells. Therefore, four different lattice-structured material

samples with equal dimension of 50 mm in length, width, and height comprising of twenty-five lattice

unit cells are designed and fabricated by Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technique using

polylactic acid (PLA) material. The samples have been investigated under compression loads by means

of the universal test machine and then the strength of each lattice is measured. Furthermore, the porosity

of each design is calculated to complete the investigation on the balance between the mechanical

strength and porosity. Finally, the chosen lattice structured material from the investigation steps is prototyped

into the imaginary damaged femur bone and fabricated with additive manufacturing to demonstrate

the closed loop of design and implementation process.