Third party funded individual grant
Acronym: Schm 2115/79-1
Start date : 01.08.2020
End date : 31.07.2023
For the project, a novel additive coating technology, which allows the flexible generation of functional and functional-integrated coatings and structures on metallic implants or bone material for reconstructive medicine, will be scientifically qualified. In this novel approach, Polyetheretherketon (PEEK) is processed in powder form by laser cladding, an additive manufacturing technology. PEEK offers great potential as bone substitution for reconstructive medicine because of its bone-related mechanical properties and high biocompatibility.Based on preliminary work, at first PEEK coatings are deposited on different substrate materials like metal or bone, before structures out of PEEK are generated onto the former deposited coating. Therefore, a modular, experimental setup is realisied, which enables the use of different powder feeding methods. The process is evaluated regarding the coating quality (adhesive strength, homogeneity, porosity, morphology) and by the use of high-speed cameras and a thermal imaging system. By this approach, a data base for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of different process dynamics and interactionmechanism respectively joining mechanism is developed. Additionally, material optimizations to improve the powder functionality (e.g. adhesive strength of the coating, powder feeding) are investigated. An adequate method is admixing different additives (e.g. graphite, Aerosil, bio glass) or preconditioning techniques (e.g. chemical etching, structurings, thermal pre-conditioning). The methods are qualified by their deployment in the process and diverse characterization techniques (e.g. Differential Scanning Calorimetry, integration spheres, laser scanning microscopy). The generation of coatings and structures by laser cladding of PEEK offers unique advantages and potentials for reconstructive medicine compared to other coating technologies. The flexibility of the process allows the realization of partial coatings, selectively variable layer thicknesses orstructure widths, complex three-dimensional structures and gradient coating properties as well was multi-material structures. The technology is applicable under atmosphere conditions and by using a multi-axis positioning system, a flexible guidance of the processing head is possible. Thus, substrates or objects with almost any geometry, size and surface condition can be processed.