Processing and mechanical properties of porous 316L stainless steel for artificial hip joints

316L stainless steel is considered as one of the attractive metallic materials for biomedical applications due to its mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance. It has been demonstrated that 316L stainless steel is well accepted by human tissues. In the present investigation, highly porous 316L stainless steel parts were produced by using a novel powder metallurgy process, which includes the selective laser sintering process and traditional sintering. Porous 316L stainless steel used for medical applications was successfully fabricated in the porosity range from 40 to 50 vol.% by controlling the selective laser sintering parameters and sintering behaviour. Elastic modulus and strength of the 316L stainless steel material was investigated as a function of the selective laser sintering process and the furnace cycle, or in the other words as a function of porosity.