Manufacturing of surgical instruments by Binder Jetting 3D printing: a feasibility study

Binder Jetting (BJT) is a promising, yet scarcely explored, additive manufacturing technology suitable for the production of orthopedic surgical instruments, offering design flexibility, material versatility, and cost-effectiveness compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing. This study assesses the feasibility of metal BJT for manufacturing surgical instruments used in knee and hip arthroplasty. Given the limited availability of literature data about such a technology, a preliminary evaluation of sample density, mechanical properties, and dimensional accuracy was performed, taking into account the main geometrical features characterizing surgical instruments. The results demonstrate that BJT enables the fabrication of lightweight and complex geometries while achieving satisfying mechanical properties. Thin walls (0.2 mm), small holes (0.5 mm), and cylindrical extrusions (0.7 mm) were successfully printed, providing insights into BJT resolution limits. However, shrinkage during s...