Development of Investment Casting Mold Material for Tissue Engineering Using Metal Foams
Mentor 1
Benjamin F. Schultz
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
5-4-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2019 3:30 PM
Description
Bone damage by illness, stress, or disease, has the ability to heal itself as long as the fracture is small. However, when bone injuries reach a size where this is no longer possible than the body will need outside means to heal the injury. A porous metal composite can be used to bridge the defect providing load bearing support and the means for new cells to grow while the scaffold deteriorates, leaving a newly formed bone. The development of metal porous scaffolds, specifically magnesium, has proven to be difficult to replicate on a consistent level. Through the use of 3D printing and the creation of a ceramic mold material, this project has set to develop an investment casting process for producing the same designed scaffold with consistency. The ceramic mold material has been developed to have a high load bearing strength, surviving high temperatures and pressures, while having little reactivity with the metals tested. Initial results were able to reproduce unit cells of basic shapes in magnesium and zinc that showed little difference in structures from the original 3D printed part. With a experimental setup than was used in this experiment, this process can be built upon to produce full size bone scaffolds that can be used for bone tissue regeneration.
Development of Investment Casting Mold Material for Tissue Engineering Using Metal Foams
Union Wisconsin Room
Bone damage by illness, stress, or disease, has the ability to heal itself as long as the fracture is small. However, when bone injuries reach a size where this is no longer possible than the body will need outside means to heal the injury. A porous metal composite can be used to bridge the defect providing load bearing support and the means for new cells to grow while the scaffold deteriorates, leaving a newly formed bone. The development of metal porous scaffolds, specifically magnesium, has proven to be difficult to replicate on a consistent level. Through the use of 3D printing and the creation of a ceramic mold material, this project has set to develop an investment casting process for producing the same designed scaffold with consistency. The ceramic mold material has been developed to have a high load bearing strength, surviving high temperatures and pressures, while having little reactivity with the metals tested. Initial results were able to reproduce unit cells of basic shapes in magnesium and zinc that showed little difference in structures from the original 3D printed part. With a experimental setup than was used in this experiment, this process can be built upon to produce full size bone scaffolds that can be used for bone tissue regeneration.
