Dynamic fatigue of 3D-printed splint materials.

Area of Science:

• Additive Manufacturing
• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering

Background:

• 3D-printed splints offer a promising alternative for treating functional disorders.
• The dynamic behavior and fatigue resistance of 3D-printed materials are influenced by processing parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the flexural fatigue limit of two different 3D-printed splint materials.
• To evaluate the impact of various cleaning and post-polymerization methods on material performance.

Main Methods:

• 96 splint discs were printed using two materials (M1, M2) and subjected to different cleaning (automatic C1, manual C2) and post-polymerization (LED P1, Xenon P2) protocols.
• Flexural fatigue limit was determined using a piston-on-3-ball test under cyclic loading after 24 hours and 60 days of water storage.

Main Results:

• Mean survival cycles varied significantly between material and processing combinations, ranging from 14,022 to 195,140 cycles.
• Cleaning significantly influenced M1 material performance, while polymerization significantly affected M2 material performance.
• Material, cleaning, and polymerization, along with their interactions, showed significant effects on loading cycles.

Conclusions:

• The number of loading cycles for 3D-printed splint specimens is dependent on material type, cleaning, and post-polymerization.
• Matching additive manufacturing processes (materials, cleaning, post-polymerization) is essential for improving the dynamic loading performance of splint materials.