Surface modification of cylindrical implants using electric discharge-assisted centreless turning

ABSTRACT

Numerous techniques are used for the surface modification of titanium alloy. This research uses electric discharge-assisted centreless turning (EDCLT) to modify the titanium alloy surfaces used for dental implants. Experimentations were planned according to the L9 Taguchi orthogonal array design. Impulse current (IP), Pulse on time (Ton), and pulse off time (Toff) were selected as input variables, and surface roughness and hardness as output variables. The machined surface’s average surface roughness (Ra) was less than 1.90 µm. In contrast to unmachined surfaces, the machined surfaces had improved corrosion resistance and bioactivity. The average hardness of machining surfaces was found to be from 43.1 HRC to 52.8 HRC, while unmachined surfaces had an average hardness of 42.7 HRC. The machined piece with an average surface roughness (Ra) of 1.25 µm got the highest bone mineralization compared to other surface roughness.

KEYWORDS:

• Dental implant
• electric discharge-assisted centreless turning
• in vitro analysis
• surface roughness
• Ti6Al4V alloy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (grant number DST-SERB EMR/2016/003372).