Novel polishing media based on fiber for finishing hip joint implants

• Published in: International journal of advanced manufacturing technology Vol. 118; no. 1-2; pp. 479 - 495
• Main Authors: Choopani, Yahya, Khajehzadeh, Mohsen, Razfar, Mohammad Reza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abrasive finishing; Accuracy; Advanced manufacturing technologies; Automation; Biomedical materials; Bone surgery; CAE) and Design; Comminution; Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD; Disintegration; Engineering; Finishing; Hip joint; Hospital costs; Industrial and Production Engineering; Joint replacement surgery; Joint surgery; Manufacturing; Mechanical Engineering; Media; Media Management; Original Article; Orthopaedic implants; Polishing; Process parameters; Productivity; Prostheses; Sisal; Surface roughness; Transplants & implants; Novel polishing media; Hip joint implant; Surface roughness; Negative replica of femoral head; Abrasive flow finishing
• ISSN: 0268-3768; 1433-3015
• DOI: 10.1007/s00170-021-07924-4

Automating the finishing process of the femoral head in hip joint implants is one of the greatest concerns in industrial and academic societies. To achieve this goal, first, a negative replica is developed for the femoral head in the abrasive flow finishing (AFF) process. Then, a novel polishing media by combining the viscoelastic carrier and coarse sisal fiber is proposed for finishing. Finally, the performance of the finishing procedure through the proposed polishing media is assessed experimentally by evaluating the influential parameters of the AFF process on the surface roughness of the femoral head, which is made from ASTM F138 (SS 316L). Experimental results prove the effectiveness of the proposed polishing media in negative replica for finishing of femoral head owing to the severe mechanical disintegration. This is validated with the substantial reduction of surface roughness in the femoral head from 134.6 to 36.96 nm. Furthermore, AFM results confirm the improved surface topography parameters of Ra, Rq, and Rt in the femoral head under optimized conditions by 72.54%, 70.50%, and 64.79%, respectively. Generally, it can be said that promising results for future application of the polishing media in the AFF process are obtained.