SLA 3D printing of high quality spine shaped β-TCP bioceramics for the hard tissue repair applications

Abstract β-TCP has excellent biodegradability and bioabsorption properties, and is regarded as an ideal hard tissue repair material. In the present study, 3D printing β-TCP green bodies was realized using the stereo lithography apparatus (SLA) technology. The effects of the KH-560 dispersant and solid loading on the slurry properties were investigated systematically. The optimized KH-560 addition amount and the solid loading of the slurry were 2.0 wt% and 48 wt%, respectively, and the corresponding slurry for the subsequent SLA 3D printing exhibited good fluidity, uniform dispersion and good stability. The sintering schedule of the printed β-TCP green bodies was optimized by the DSC-TG analysis. By sintering the green bodies at 1050 °C for 8 h, high quality β-TCP bioceramics without crack or deformation were fabricated. It was found that increasing the solid loading of the slurry would decrease the porosity while reducing the shrinkage degree of the β-TCP ceramics. However, the slurry could hardly be printed when its solid loading was higher than 50 wt%.