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Arcam provides Free Form Fabrication machines for Direct Manufacturing of metal parts.
The technology offers ultimate geometric freedom combined with first class material properties.
Arcam is guided by our vision to revolutionize the art of manufacturing.

New orthopaedic
implants improve
peoples quality
of life.

www.arcam.com
Rapid News.

The CE-certified Fixa Ti-Por acetabular cup. The vacuum environment makes the EBM
process especially well suited to manufac-
The first project step was to decide on the
design of the acetabular cups trabecular

Manufactured with an integrated trabecular ture parts in reactive materials with a high
affinity for oxygen. One such example is
structure, which was done in cooperation
with the network of orthopaedic surgeons

structure for improved osseointegration. titanium, the most widely used material for
implants because of its biocompatibility,
that Adler Ortho works with.

whose material properties alter when the Several different designs were proposed and
oxygen content increases. evaluated, and the final one was a cup with a
trabecular structure with interspaces of about
The vacuum thus ensures very high pu- 700 micron (Fig. A) throughout the outer
The problem The solution rity of the material which is imperative in surface. This dimension enables the bony
The ability to Fit and Forget is an essential Adler Ortho Group, the Italian manufac- implant manufacture. The combination of trabeculae to bring about excellent grafting,
requirement in many critical applications, turer of orthopaedic implants, is known for vacuum and a high power energy source favoring the ingrowth of new bony tissue.
and there is nothing more challenging in this its innovative product designs, e.g. femoral also yields high strength properties of the
respect than implants in the human body. stems with modular interchangeable and material. Implants produced with EBM A pilot study was also conducted at the Lab- Fig. A. Trabecular structure,
adjustable necks, and with its new Fixa accordingly feature a chemical composition oratory of Surgical Preclinical Studies of the manufactured with EBM.
The number of people who undergo joint Ti-Por acetabular cup it has now intro- within stipulated standards, fully dense ma- Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli directed by Prof.
replacement surgery, e.g. total hip and knee duced another groundbreaking implant. terial with fine microstructure, high ductil- Roberto Giardino, in collaboration with the
replacement, is steadily increasing as people ity and good fatigue characteristics. VII Division of Traumatologic Orthopaedic
live longer. Higher quality of life expecta- Adler Ortho had been investigating alter- Surgery directed by Prof. Armando Giunti.
tions also produce an increasing number of native means to promote bone ingrowth The additive, layer-based nature of the EBM
younger patients. for some time when it was introduced to process also makes it possible to manufac- Fig. B (taken two weeks after surgery),
Arcams Electron Beam Melting (EBM) ture implants with the continuous trabecular illustrates spongy bone observed in the
Major joint replacement is the only treat- technology, and realized how it can be used structures that enhance the osseointegration. repair phase with thin and dense trabeculae
ment option for many patients with high to build orthopaedic implants with full ma- surrounding the implant, penetrating into
levels of immobility and pain, dramati- terial properties and an integrated trabecular The project the space created by the structures macro-
cally improving peoples quality of life by structure for improved osseointegration. Adler Ortho therefore decided to develop porosity. The bone is directly attached to the
relieving pain and restoring their physical The EBM technology, developed by Arcam a completely new acetabular cup, able to metal without any fiber tissue interposition.
independence. and proven in other demanding mechanical take advantage of the full range of pos-
applications, manufactures parts by melt- sibilities that the EBM technology offers. The first batches of acetabular cups were
An implant that doesnt provide long term ing thin layers of metal powder. The energy The material of choice was Ti6Al4V with produced at Arcam, allowing Arcams en-
Fixa Ti-Por,
fixation and needs to be replaced prema- source is an electron beam gun and the acetabular cup with a its combination of strength and excellent gineers to optimize the production process Fig. B. Spongy bone in the
turely causes unnecessary trauma for the process takes place in a vacuum chamber. continuous, engineered biocompatibility. while Adler Ortho concurrently initiated repair phase.
trabecular structure for
patient, as well as additional social costs the clinical and biomedical trials.
improved osseointegration.
that often arent taken fully into account. It
is therefore vital to reduce the risk of this
occurring to a minimum.

One of the major Fit and Forget factors for

orthopaedic implants is the implants ability
to fix itself to the hosting bone, by enabling
the bone to grow into it and make the im-
plant almost an integral part of the body.

ARCAM
EBM MACHINE TECHNICAL DATA
The conventional methods to improve
bone ingrowth by adding a porous coating
of titanium beads or hydroxyapatite to Build envelope 200 x 200 x 180 mm (W x D x H)

the implants surface work well, but still do Build speed Up to 60 cm 3/h

not provide the optimum conditions for Layer thickness 0.050.20 mm

osseointegration. Vacuum pressure <5 x 10 4 mBar

Electron Beam power Up to 4000 W
Electron Beam accuracy 0.05 mm
Electron Beam scan speed ~1000 m/s
Electrical connection: 3 x 400 V, 32 A
Certification CE
 000000
The product REFERENCES
An Arcam EBM S12 machine was then A. Toni, F. Fabbri, G. Scimeca, S.
installed at Adler Orthos manufacturing Paderni, M. Testoni, F. Baruffaldi, A.
facilities in Milan, forming an integral part Giunti Femoral cortex modifica-
tion related to prosthetic implant
of their production system, and the group Chir. Organi di Mov.; accepted for
was thus ready to start its own production print on May 5, 1997.
of acetabular cups with trabecular structures.
Bobyn, J.D., Miller, J.E., 1994. Fea-
tures of biologically fixed devices.
The process to certify the new Fixa Ti-Por In: Simon, S.R. (Ed.) Orthopaedic
Basic Science. American Academy
acetabular cup in accordance with the
of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Chi-
European regulations for orthopaedic implants cago, pp. 613-616.
was subsequently initiated, covering also the
Galois, L., Mainard, D., 2004. Bone
EBM production process and the Arcam-
ingrowth into two porous ceram-
supplied materials, and Adler Ortho was A post market clinical follow-up has also ics with different pore sizes: an
awarded the CE certification in January been put in place to fully evaluate the me- experimental study. Acta Orthop
Belg 70 (6), 598-603.
2007. dium and long-term results of the product.
Gotz, H.E., Muller, M., Emmel, A.,
The CE certificate was the final part of the The Fixa Ti-Por cup is now in series Holzwarth, U., Erben, R.G., Stangl,
R., 2004. Effect of surface finish
groups product puzzle, and in July 2007 the production at Adler Ortho, and the group on the
new, groundbreaking acetabular cup was is ramping up the production volumes to osseointegration of laser-treated
launched as a commercial product. meet the market demand. Adler Orthos titanium alloy implants. Biomate-
rials 25 (18), 4057-64.
engineers have also started to investigate
During its first year on the market more than other new, innovative implant designs to be Hulbert, S.F., Young, F.A., Mathews
1.000 acetabular cups were implanted at several produced with Additive Manufacturing. R.S., Klawitter, J.J., Talbert, C.D.,
Stelling, F.H., 1970. Potential of
Italian reference centers. The surgeons ceramic materials
post-op feedback is excellent: the primary as permanently implantable skel-
etal prostheses. J Biomed Mater
fixation granted by the hemispherical press-
Res 4 (3), 433-560.
fit is supported by the strong surface grip of
the cup design. Karageorgiou, V., Kaplan, D.,
2005. Porosity of 3D Biomate-
rial scaffolds and osteogenesis.
Biomaterials 26 (27 , 5474-91.

Kuboki, Y., Jin, Q., Takita, H., 2001.

Geometry of carriers controlling
phenotypic expression in BMP
For more information: induced osteogenesis and
chondrogenesis. J Bone Joint
Patrik Ohldin, Arcam AB: +46 31 7103200 Surg Am 83-A Suppl. 1 (Pt. 2), pp.
Patrizio Cremascoli, Adler Ortho: +39 02 615 4371 105-115.

Arcam AB | Kroksltts Fabriker 27A, SE 431 37 Mlndal, Sweden | Phone: +46 31 710 32 00 | Fax: +46 31 710 32 01 | info@arcam.com | www.arcam.com

Arcam provides Free Form Fabrication machines for Direct Manufacturing of metal parts. The technology offers ultimate geometric freedom combined with first
class material properties. Arcam is guided by our vision to revolutionize the art of manufacturing.Use Arcam to manufacture your future.