Ageing processes in laser sintered and injection moulded PA12 following hygienic reprocessing
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the ageing behaviour of polyamide 12 (PA12) after clinical use. The research is focused on the comparison of the processing methods injection moulding and laser sintering.
Design/methodology/approach
Test specimens are subjected to a cyclic stress of defined bending, cleaning, disinfection and sterilization. The focus of interest in this research is the degradation and reduction of mechanical properties.
Findings
Mechanical and optical changes of the materials after clinical use and hygienic reprocessing are evaluated and discussed.
Research limitations/implications
This article is focused on PA12 and, therefore, enables a very specific statement for the clinical use of PA12. The processing methods could have different impacts depending on the polymer.
Originality/value
With the increasing application of polymers in medical devices, the mechanical properties must be ensured even after long-term clinical use. A systematic research with a realistic and still-defined cyclic stress is shown in this paper. Especially the testing of laser sintered polymers compared to injection moulded material has an important message for future patient-specific products.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was part of the research project 16577N of the FSKZ research association. The project was, on the basis of a resolution of the Lower House of the German Parliament, promoted by the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology (BMWi) via the Federation of Industrial Research Associations “Otto von Guericke” (AiF) within the framework of the programme for the promotion of Joint Industrial Research projects (IGF). The authors would like to thank for the financial support.
Citation
Haerst, M.J., Wolf, R., Schönberger, M., Wintermantel, E., Engelsing, K., Heidemeyer, P. and Bastian, M. (2015), "Ageing processes in laser sintered and injection moulded PA12 following hygienic reprocessing", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 279-286. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-06-2013-0061
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited