Formation of Bioresorbable Fe-Cu-Hydroxyapatite Composite by 3D Printing

Studies of the microstructure, phase composition and mechanical characteristics, namely the microhardness of metal–ceramic composites made of Fe 90 wt.%–Cu 10 wt.% powder and hydroxyapatite (Fe-Cu-HA), are presented in the manuscript. The composite material was obtained using additive manufacturing based on the 3D-printing method, with different content levels of powder (40, 45 and 50%) and polymer parts (60, 55 and 50%). It is shown that varying the proportion of Fe-Cu-HA powder does not significantly affect the elemental and phase compositions of the material. The X-ray phase analysis showed the presence of three phases in the material: alpha iron, copper and hydroxyapatite. It is shown in the experiment that an increase in the polymer component of the composite leads to an increase in the defectiveness of the structure, as well as an increase in microstresses. An increase in the mechanical properties of the composite (Vickers microhardness), along with a decrease in the percentage of Fe-Cu-HA powder from 50 to 40%, was established. At the same time, the composite containing 45% Fe-Cu-HA powder demonstrated the maximum increase in the microhardness of the composite by ~26% compared to the composite containing 50% Fe-Cu-HA powder, which is due to the more uniform distribution of components.