Metal 3D Printing Techniques for Biomedical Applications
A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Metals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2026 | Viewed by 2019
Special Issue Editor
Interests: laser surface engineering; laser additive manufacturing; laser welding/joining for high-value manufacturing applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The world is facing significant challenges, including population growth, an ageing society, global warming, and a shift towards small-batch, customised manufacturing. Among these, the ageing population is driving demand for advanced medical implants. Metal implants, typically used for load-bearing functions, are a key category in biomedical applications.
Current manufacturing methods rely on traditional subtractive techniques, which limit the production of complex, patient-specific designs. Furthermore, conventional mass production contributes to material waste and CO2 emissions, contradicting sustainability goals. Metal 3D printing (M3DP) offers a transformative solution as an additive manufacturing technology, mitigating material waste, enabling powder recycling, and allowing the direct fabrication of customised implants from CAD models.
Various M3DP techniques have been developed, each with its own advantages. Powder-bed fusion (PBF) provides high precision and material flexibility, while directed energy deposition (DED) enables localised material addition. Binder-based methods utilise liquid binders to form green parts that require post-processing, and hybrid techniques combine mechanical bonding with CNC or laser shaping.
Despite these advancements, M3DP adoption in the medical device industry remains in its early stages. Further research is needed to optimise mechanical strength, corrosion and wear resistance, biocompatibility, bone integration, antibacterial properties, and long-term durability.
This Special Issue explores advancements in M3DP for biomedical applications, bridging materials science, additive manufacturing, and biomedical engineering.
Dr. Chi Wai Chan
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- metal 3D printing (M3DP)
- additive manufacturing
- biomedical implants
- customised implants
- biocompatibility
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