Advanced manufacturing of ceramics for biomedical applications: subjection methods for biocompatible materials

The continuously growing utilization of ceramic compounds in the field of medicine, industry and aerospace, among others, imply a high degree of specialization in terms of the material properties and functionalization due to the diversity of the requirements of the ceramic parts. The necessity of lightweight final parts with suitable surface properties oriented to biomedic applications demands innovative ceramic compounds whose machining is, in many cases, considerably difficult due to the fragility or dustiness of the material. In this respect, novel solutions for the materialization of ceramic prototypes following subtractive methodologies become essential. Examples of these novel solutions include the adaptation of subjection systems that permit the machining processes involved without the damage of the part. The present article summarizes the development of a tailored subjection system for the machining of advanced ceramic cups with biomedical applications in the field of prosthetic implantology. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.