Mechanical Performance of 3D-Printed Biocompatible Polycarbonate for Biomechanical Applications

Abstract

Additive manufacturing has experienced remarkable growth in recent years due to the customisation, precision, and cost savings compared to conventional manufacturing techniques. In parallel, materials with great potential have been developed, such as PC-ISO polycarbonate, which has biocompatibility certifications for use in the biomedical industry. However, many of these synthetic materials are not capable of meeting the mechanical stresses to which the biological structure of the human body is naturally subjected. In this study, an exhaustive characterisation of the PC-ISO was carried out, including an investigation on the influence of the printing parameters by fused filament fabrication on its mechanical behaviour. It was found that the effect of the combination of the printing parameters does not have a notable impact on the mass, cost, and manufacturing time of the specimens; however, it is relevant when determining the tensile, bending, shear, impact, and fatigue strengths. The best combinations for its application in biomechanics are proposed, and the need to combine PC-ISO with other materials to achieve the necessary strengths for functioning as a bone scaffold is demonstrated.

Surgery Training System Supported by Organic Materials

“…Gomez-Gras et al, in their study, found that the effect of setting the printing parameters does not significantly affect the weight, cost, and production time but has a significant impact on the mechanical and functional properties: strength, stretching, bending, shearing, impact, and fatigue material [24].…”

“…Polycarbonate is resistant to high temperatures (processing temperature from 280 • C to 310 • C), which allows for a wide range of use (at temperatures from −100 • C to 135 • C). It enables steam sterilization using an autoclave, where the process temperature reaches 134 • C, as well as gamma radiation or ethylene oxide [24]. Thanks to the resistance to UV radiation, the material can also be sterilized by ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) method.…”

Effect of 3D Printing Process Parameters on Damping Characteristic of Cantilever Beams Fabricated Using Material Extrusion

“…Several studies investigated the effect of process parameters on static mechanical properties such as tensile modulus, tensile strength and fracture toughness [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. On the other hand, some papers focused on fatigue behaviour, such as fatigue life and strength [ 5 , 16 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

Solvent-induced competing processes in polycarbonate degradation: depolymerization, chain scission, and branching/crosslinking

“…It has wide applications in electronics, 8 construction, 9 automotive systems, 10,11 and aircraft 12 owing to its excellent mechanical, thermal, and optical properties. 6,[13][14][15][16] The enormous global production has led to an urgent need for effective recycling. Among various recycling approaches, [17][18][19][20][21] chemical recycling holds great promise because it can degrade polymers into easily processable building blocks or valuable chemicals.…”