Effects of production method and space holder material on microstructure of porous titanium

Abstract

The use of space holder particles is now a well-known and common method for production of porous titanium implants. It is possible to control porosity and pore structure by the use of a variety of spacer materials available. However, adaptation of the space holder method to near net-shape processing techniques such as metal injection molding (MIM) necessitates some specifications for space holder selection. In this work, those specifications for MIM processing were defined and the use of alternative space holders was investigated. Titanium foams were produced via two different methods, namely, warm pressing in the presence of a binder system and cold isostatical pressing without binders. Microstructures of the titanium foams produced via different methods and varying space holders were comparatively examined.