A joint prosthesis system is suitable for cementless fixation. The system has two metal implant components and a bearing. One of the metal implant components has an articulation surface for articulation with the bearing. The other metal implant component has a mounting surface for supporting the bearing. One of the metal implant components includes a solid metal portion and a porous metal portion. The porous metal portion has surfaces with different characteristics, such as roughness, to improve bone fixation, ease removal of the implant component in a revision surgery, reduce soft tissue irritation, improve the strength of a sintered bond between the solid and porous metal portions, or reduce or eliminate the possibility of blood traveling through the porous metal portion into the joint space. A method of making the joint prosthesis is also disclosed. The invention may also be applied to discrete porous metal implant components, such as augment.

The present disclosure relates to a system for using a feedstock to form a three dimensional, hierarchical, porous metal structure with deterministically controlled 3D multiscale porous architectures. The system may have a reservoir for holding the feedstock, the feedstock including a rheologically tuned alloy ink. A printing stage may be used for receiving the feedstock. A processor may be incorporated which has a memory, and which is configured to help carry out an additive manufacturing printing process to produce a three dimensional (3D) structure using the feedstock in a layer-by-layer fashion, on the printing stage. A nozzle may be included for applying the feedstock therethrough onto the printing stage. A de-alloying subsystem may be used for further processing the 3D structure through a de-alloying operation to form a de-alloyed 3D structure having several distinct, differing pore length scales ranging from a digitally controlled macroporous architecture to a nanoporosity introduced by the de-alloying operation.

A method of bonding a first article to a second article, each article having a respective bond surface. The method comprises interposing a porous interlayer region between the bond surfaces of the first and second articles and subsequently using electrical resistance heating to locally heat the interlayer region under contact pressure to a bonding temperature below the melting temperature of the interlayer and the first and second articles to thereby bond the interlayer to the first and second articles to form a bonded article. The interlayer has a porosity of between approximately 10% and 30%.

According to the present invention, there are provided processes for preparing a porous composite material comprising a metal and a two-dimensional nanomaterial. In one aspect, the processes comprise the steps of: providing a powder comprising metal particles; heating the powder such that the metal particles fuse to form a porous scaffold; and forming a two-dimensional nanomaterial on a surface of the porous scaffold by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Also provided are materials obtainable by the present processes, and products comprising said materials.

According to the present invention, there are provided processes for preparing a porous composite material comprising a metal and a two-dimensional nanomaterial. In one aspect, the processes comprise the steps of: providing a powder comprising metal particles; heating the powder such that the metal particles fuse to form a porous scaffold; and forming a two-dimensional nanomaterial on a surface of the porous scaffold by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Also provided are materials obtainable by the present processes, and products comprising said materials.

[Object] There is provided a porous sintered body has a uniform porosity, a high level of freedom in body formation which allows formation into varieties shapes and various levels of porosity, and a very large surface area. [Solution] The porous sintered body includes: hollow cores which follow a vanished shape of an interlaced or otherwise structured fibriform vanisher material; sintered walls 226 which extend longitudinally of the cores and obtained by sintering a first sintering powder held around the cores; and voids formed between the sintered walls. The cores and the voids communicate with each other via absent regions formed in the sintered walls. The sintered walls have surfaces formed with a sintered microparticulate layer 232 made from a material containing a second sintering powder which has a smaller diameter than the first sintering powder, and has predetermined pores 231.

[Object] There is provided a porous sintered body has a uniform porosity, a high level of freedom in body formation which allows formation into varieties shapes and various levels of porosity, and a very large surface area. [Solution] The porous sintered body includes: hollow cores which follow a vanished shape of an interlaced or otherwise structured fibriform vanisher material; sintered walls 226 which extend longitudinally of the cores and obtained by sintering a first sintering powder held around the cores; and voids formed between the sintered walls. The cores and the voids communicate with each other via absent regions formed in the sintered walls. The sintered walls have surfaces formed with a sintered microparticulate layer 232 made from a material containing a second sintering powder which has a smaller diameter than the first sintering powder, and has predetermined pores 231.

A joint prosthesis system is suitable for cementless fixation. The system includes a metal implant component that has a mounting surface for supporting an insert. The metal implant component includes a solid metal portion and a porous metal portion. The porous metal portion has surfaces with different characteristics, such as roughness, to improve bone fixation, ease removal of the implant component in a revision surgery, reduce soft tissue irritation, improve the strength of a sintered bond between the solid and porous metal portions, or reduce or eliminate the possibility of blood traveling through the porous metal portion into the joint space. A method of making the joint prosthesis is also disclosed. The invention may also be applied to discrete porous metal implant components, such as augment.

An abradable composite material comprising a matrix of sintered metallic particles and non-metallic solid lubricants disposed within the interstitial spaces of the matrix is described. The abradable composite material is capable of being used with, e.g., titanium-alloy blades of a gas turbine at least in part because the abradable composite material does not cause excessive wear or damage to the blades of the gas turbine. Methods of forming the abradable composite material are also described.

The present disclosure relates to a method for forming a three dimensional, hierarchical, porous metal structure with deterministically controlled 3D multiscale pore architectures. The method may involve providing a feedstock able to be applied in an additive manufacturing process, and using an additive manufacturing process to produce a three dimensional (3D) structure using the feedstock. The method may involve further processing the 3D structure through at least a de-alloying operation to form a metallic 3D structure having an engineered, digitally controlled macropore morphology with integrated nanoporosity.