EVALUATION OF THE SPACE HOLDERS TECHNIQUE APPLIED IN POWDER METALLURGY PROCESS IN THE USE OF TITANIUM AS BIOMATERIAL

The objective of this paper is the manufacture of a porous metal structure from commercially pure titanium powder grade 1, aiming at the possible application as a biomaterial in the re-generation of bone tissues assuming its architecture. Exper-imental methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of the Space Holders tech-nique in the manufacture of powder metallurgy (MP). In the samples produced, 50% by volume of titanium powder and 50% of chemical reagent (So-dium Chloride - NaCl and Ammonium Bicarbonate - HN4HCO3) were added, compressed with a pressure of 250 Mpa. The metal-only test samples were com-pacted with pressures of 70 MPa and 250 MPa. The architecture found with the use of Space Holders was satisfactory, presenting sufficient conditions of size, morphology, and interconnectivity for bone growth within the structure. Samples made only with metal powder do not have enough pores even with lower compation pressure.