3D printed customized titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V, TC4) as load-bearing prostheses and implants, such as intervertebral cage, were widely used in clinical practice. Natively biological inertia and inadequate bone in-growth of porous titanium alloy scaffolds hampered their clinically application efficiency and then extended healing period. To improve osseointegration capacity of 3D printed intervertebral cage, sandblasting was selected to execute their surface treatment. On one hand, sandblasting treatment could efficiently eliminate incompletely unmelted powders which adhered to struts on intervertebral cages during manufacture of 3D printing, resulting in high surface area and low surface flatness induced by roughed surface in favor of osseointegration. On the other hand, sandblasting could also induce ultrafine grains and nanograins at near-surface layer conductive to mechanical strength enhancement. It could be verified by both microhardness and residual compressive stress reaching the peak values (404.2 HV, 539.1 MPa) on transverse section of its near-surface layer along depth from surface. It attributed to more grain boundaries could impede dislocation movement. Sandblasting surface on intervertebral cage could be in favor of osseointegration and in-growth, providing a foundation for sandblasting treatment of 3D printed intervertebral cage in clinical application.
Keywords: 3D printing; intervertebral cage; nanograin strengthening; residual stress; sandblasting treatment.
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