Author : Prajakta Subhedar, Gajanan Thokal, and C.R. Patil

Hip joint is one of the largest weight-bearing structures in the human body. In the event of a failure of the natural hip joint, it is replaced with an artificial hip joint, known as hip joint prosthesis. The main components of prosthesis consist of femoral stem and acetabular cup. These are made up of either one piece or modular design. In the present
work, modular designed femoral head of polyamide material is proposed. Four different models of femoral head
(considering 2 head diameters and 2 stem diameters) were manufactured using selective laser sintering process-one
of the 3D printing techniques. Physical models were tested for their suitability for brisk walking activity by fracture
test (compression testing). After the specimen crosses the load stipulated for brisk walking activity i.e. 3000 N, it is
further subjected to gradually increasing load, till it breaks, relieving its ultimate load carrying capacity. The
experimental result values were compared with previous data on hip contact forces. All models were tested for brisk
walking activity and each one’s suitability for the purpose is concluded depending upon its maximum allowable
stress.

Keywords: Hip implant, selective laser sintering, duraform polyamide, femoral head, brisk walking activity, ultimate load carrying capacity

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.7, No.2 (April-2017)