Process Capability for Additively Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V Orthopedic Implants

This presentation will help the audience to gain a better understanding of two of the most widely used AM technologies in Orthopedics, Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB) and Laser Powder Bed Fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M). In a head-to-head comparison of mechanical and dimensional capability, we will also show how the two processes can consistently meet requirements in a highly regulated manufacturing environment.

As AM equipment continues to gain popularity in the manufacturing industry, the need for trending process data to monitor and improve the efficiency of the equipment is growing. Process capability analysis and similar statistical process controls (SPC) are frequently used to measure the ability of a manufacturing process to produce conforming product. In this session, we will present a case study where SPC methods were applied to process data collected from Oerlikon AM’s medical production line in Shelton, CT, to calculate the process capability indices of two Arcam EBM Q10plus and two 3D Systems ProX DMP 320 machines. We will also show how the results from the study were used to identify critical areas and implement process improvements.