Preparation of formed orthopedic articles

摘要

In one embodiment, the present invention may be a method of forming a porous and/or dense article from metal powder (12), including adding to a mold a first feedstock comprising an agglomerated metal powder (12) and an agglomeration agent, forming said first feedstock into a green state dense article (22); and removing said agglomeration agent. Furthermore, the present invention may include a second feedstock including an agglomerated metal powder (12), a space filling material and an agglomeration agent which may be formed into a green state porous article (21). The present invention also includes a dense and/or porous article (22 and 21) manufactured by various methods, as well as methods for creating the dense and porous feedstocks. Moreover, the present invention may include an article which may be a medical implant.

主权项

1. A method of forming a brown state article, having at least a porous portion, from metal powder, comprising:
adding to a mold a first feedstock comprising an agglomerated metal powder, an agglomeration agent and a space filling material, wherein said agglomerated metal powder of said first feedstock comprises clusters of irregularly shaped metal powder, the space filling material having a size which is equal in size to the clusters; forming said agglomerated metal powder of said first feedstock around the space filling material into the porous portion of a green state article, wherein said agglomerated metal powder is sufficiently weak such that said clusters of agglomerated metal powder interlock, pack, and deform with one another to fit into voids and surround the space filling material; and removing said agglomeration agent and said space filling material to form the porous portion of the brown state article.