The authors report on the manufacturing of mechanically stable β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) structural hybrid scaffolds via the combination of additive manufacturing (CerAM VPP) and Freeze Foaming for engineering a potential bone replacement. In the first step, load bearing support structures were designed via FE simulation and 3D printed by CerAM VPP. In the second step, structures were foamed-in with a porous and degradable calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramic that mimics porous spongiosa. For this purpose, Fraunhofer IKTS used a process known as Freeze Foaming, which allows the foaming of any powdery material and the foaming-in into near-net-shape structures. Using a joint heat treatment, both structural components fused to form a structural hybrid. This bone construct had a 25-fold increased compressive strength compared to the pure CaP Freeze Foam and excellent biocompatibility with human osteoblastic MG-63 cells when compared to a bone grafting Curasan material for benchmark.

Developed at NASA Langley Research Center during the late 90's, the Macro Fiber Composites (MFC) are manufactured by Smart Material Corp. in a full-scale production, today. Numerous research projects have proven the concept of using the MFC in vibration and noise control applications, as well as for health monitoring, morphing of structures and energy harvesting. Because basic performance parameters of products are considerably improved, like for example energy economy, precision and comfort, a widespread use of active structures is expected in the next future. Different MFC types are commercially available meeting already the requirements of a variety of applications. The migration from research projects to high volume, cost effective commercial applications has generated additional need for new MFC designs, electronics on microcontroller and chip level, and system design tools, as well. In this paper, we give an overview of recent progress in the development of the MFC transducers and MFC systems technology.