Development of Texture Mapping Approaches for Additively Manufacturable Surfaces

manufacturing(AM)technologies have been recognized for their capability to build complex components and hence have ofered more freedom to designers for a long time.The ability to directly use a computer-aided design(CAD)model has allowed for fabricating and realizing complicated components,monolithic design,reducing the number of components in an assembly,decreasing time to market,and adding performance or comfort-enhancing functionalities.One of the features that can be introduced for boosting a component functionality using AM is the inclusion of surface texture on a given component.This inclusion is usually a difcult task as creating a CAD model resolving fne details of a given texture is difcult even using commercial software packages.This paper develops a methodology to include texture directly on the CAD model of a target surface using a patch-based sampling texture synthesis algorithm,which can be manufactured using AM.Input for the texture generation algorithm can be either a physical sample or an image with heightmap information.The heightmap information from a physical sample can be obtained by 3D scanning the sample and using the information from the acquired point cloud.After obtaining the required inputs,the patches are sampled for texture generation according to non-parametric estimation of the local conditional Markov random feld(MRF)density function,which helps avoid mismatched features across the patch boundaries.While generating the texture,a design constraint to ensure AM producibility is considered,which is essential when manufacturing a component using,e.g.,Fused Deposition Melting(FDM)or Laser Powder Bed Fusion(LPBF).The generated texture is then mapped onto the surface using the developed distance and angle preserving mapping algorithms.The implemented algorithms can be used to map the generated texture onto a mathematically defned surface.This paper maps the textures onto fat,curved,and sinusoidal surfaces for illustration.After the texture mapping,a stereolithography(STL)model is generated with the desired texture on the target surface.The generated STL model is printed using FDM technology as a fnal step.

Additively manufactured pure zinc porous scaffolds for critical-sized bone defects of rabbit femur

Additive manufacturing has received attention for the fabrication of medical implants that have customized and complicated structures.Biodegradable Zn metals are revolutionary materials for orthopedic implants.In this study,pure Zn porous scaffolds with diamond structures were fabricated using customized laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)technology.First,the mechanical properties,corrosion behavior,and biocompatibility of the pure Zn porous scaffolds were characterized in vitro.The scaffolds were then implanted into the rabbit femur critical-size bone defect model for 24 weeks.The results showed that the pure Zn porous scaffolds had compressive strength and rigidity comparable to those of cancellous bone,as well as relatively suitable degradation rates for bone regeneration.A benign host response was observed using hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining of the heart,liver,spleen,lungs,and kidneys.Moreover,the pure Zn porous scaffold showed good biocompatibility and osteogenic promotion ability in vivo.This study showed that pure Zn porous scaffolds with customized structures fabricated using L-PBF represent a promising biodegradable solution for treating large bone defects.

Laser additive manufacturing of Zn porous scaffolds: Shielding gas flow, surface quality and densification

Zn based metals have exhibited promising prospects as a structural material for biodegradable applications. Pure Zn porous scaffolds were produced by laser powder bed fusion(LPBF) based on data files of designing and CT scanning. Massive Zn evaporation during laser melting largely influenced the formation quality during LPBF of Zn metal. The metal vapor in processing chamber was blown off and suctioned out efficiently by an optimized gas circulation system. Numerical analysis was used to design and testify the performance of gas flow. The surface of scaffolds was covered with numerous particles in different sizes. Processing pores occurred near the outline contour of struts. The average grain size in width was8.5m, and the hardness was 43.8 HV. Chemical plus electrochemical polishing obtained uniform and smooth surface without processing pores, but the diameter of struts reduced to 250 αm from the design value 300 m. The poor surface quality and processing pores were resulted by the splashing particles included spatters and powders due to the recoil force of evaporation, and the horizontal movement of liquid metal due to overheating and wetting. The insufficient melting at the outline contour combined with good wetting of Zn liquid metal further increased the surface roughness and processing pores.