Research Interests (Lay Summary)

Neha’s I-Form research project is focussed on developing additive manufacturing processes  for novel medical stents. These stents require specific properties to be used for cardiovascular surgeries. Detailed investigations are required on optimisation of feedstock composition and the printing process itself to obtain stents with the required strength, elastic modulus, and resistance towards corrosion.  

Technical Summary

The objective of this project is to additively manufacture novel stent products. Selective Laser Melting (SLM), also known as Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), is a common metal additive manufacturing technique used in high-tech industries healthcare and aerospace to produce high quality products with complex and customised designs. SLM is a complex process with a multitude of variables from powder properties to laser processing parameters and built chamber conditions. In order to optimize the SLM process for these stents, a detailed Design of Experiments (DoE) study will be performed to examine the effect of important variables on built part properties. Scan strategies will be developed to 3D print various stent designs.  Post processing steps such as heat treatment, laser polishing and electropolishing will also be characterised and optimised.