Preliminary results on Ti incremental sheet forming (ISF) of biomedical devices: biocompatibility, surface finishing and treatment

Incremental sheet forming is a technique that allows locally deforming a sheet by means of a movable punch. Even if it requires longer forming time and higher part geometrical tolerances with respect to traditional sheet forming techniques, it does not need dedicated devices and its accuracy can be improved adopting low cost full or partial dies. For these reasons, it results to a flexible technology and economically suitable for low volume batch productions such as pre-series, prototypes or high customised parts. These characteristics well fit with prosthesis manufacturing where each part is a unique product, indeed its geometry needs to meet the patient’s physical characteristics. In the present paper, titanium ISF formed parts will be studied, in particular surface anodising pre-treatment effects on part finishing and biocompatibility are investigated.