Titanium has been widely used in biomedical implant applications due to its excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. However, manufacturing titanium was quite challenging due to the need for high temperature while having high reactivity. Therefore, spark plasma sintering (SPS) is proposed as an advance rapid sintering technique which allows the fabrication of bulk and porous titanium for biomedical application. This review aims to explore the recent status of titanium alloys prepared by the SPS method. There are two common approaches of titanium development by the SPS method, develop a bulk titanium alloy, or develop porous titanium. The development of titanium for biomedical implant application was done by improving biocompatibility alloy and repair some unsatisfactory mechanical properties. Some low toxicity of titanium alloys (Aluminum free and Vanadium free) had been studied such as Ti–Nb, Ti–Zr, Ti–Ag, Ti–Mg, Ti–Nb–Zr, Ti–Nb–Cu, Ti–Nb–Zr–Ta, etc. SPS was shown to increase the mechanical properties of titanium alloys. However, porous titanium alloys prepared by SPS had gained much attention since it may produce titanium with lower elastic modulus in such a short time. Low elastic modulus is preferable for implant material because it can reduce the risk of implant failure due to the stress-shielding effect. Besides mechanical properties, some corrosion resistance and the biocompatibility of titanium are also reviewed in this paper.

The application of plasma process is growing field covering a wide range of activities, from welding technology, coating technology, deposition technology, manufacturing technology of metal powder, and other important engineering technology. The manufacture of metal powders can be generated from the process of gas atomization, water atomization, plasma atomization, and plasma rotating electrodes process atomization. In the process of plasma atomization provides advantages in addition to producing round powder, it is also very potential for efficient processing and recycling of used and alloy materials, thus saving fuel and essential materials. These operations will have a continuing impact on our industrial society as a whole. The industry of future metal powder manufacturers that utilize plasma atomization technology is an investment strategy that has a great opportunity to grow rapidly. A variety of plasma processes for the manufacture of metal powders will be reviewed in this paper, among others, are plasma atomization and plasma rotating electrodes process atomization. They are all potentially able to control and to produce of metal powders of spherical particles, making it very profitable on powder technology applications. The purpose of this review is to summarize and provide future research for activities in the field of metal powders by plasma atomization processes. The emphasis on plasma engineering technology future research in powder making available for exploration and research needs to be met so that these future research can be realized. Finally, the future challenges of automation from the use of plasma atomization technology for additives manufacturing, powder welding and medical manufacturing.

Generally, metal injection molding (MIM) method utilizes SS 17-4 PH as material for application of orthodontic bracket. One of the process of MIM is thermal debinding, which binder is eliminated by thermal energy. In this study, thermal debinding process is conducted with variation of temperature, i.e. 480, 510, and 540°C, holding time, i.e. 0.5, 1 and 2 hours, heating rate, i.e. 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2°C/min.The effect of temperature shows that the increased temperature will result in the mass reduction percentage due to formation of oxide on the sample, which will be proven through TGA testing. The highest mass reduction was 6.4137 wt% which was obtained at 480°C. For the variation of holding time, the longer the holding time will result in increased mass reduction and the highest mas reduction was 6.255 wt% which was obtained during 2 hours of holding time. For the heating rate, the slower the heating rate will result in increased mass reduction and decreased the presence of crack formation. The best variable was obtained at heating rate of 0.5°C/min, which resulted mass reduction of 6.2488 wt% and less crack formation.

Performance of stainless steel 17-4 PH as the orthodontic bracket can be improved by titanium dioxide (TiO₂) coating. In order to produce a good quality of the coating layer, the substrate had to be smooth and free from any contaminants. The electropolishing method was used to clean bracket’s surface from oxides substances which formed during sintering by reducing its surface roughness. Bath temperature and electropolishing time were varied to 30 °C and 70 °C, for 15 and 25 min, respectively. Those differences in electropolishing condition would affect the final surface’s roughness of the substrate. The atmosphere during PVD was controlled using oxygen and argon gases with the flowing rate ratio of 10:90 sccm and 50:50 sccm, and these gases would affect TiO₂coating mechanical properties. The lowest roughness of 0.99μm and the highest roughness of 2.85μm were obtained after electropolishing. The coating quality on the substrates with different roughness was assessed through coating adhesivity on the substrate by micro Vickers qualitatively. The results showed that the TiO₂coating layer on the substrate with a lower roughness had better adhesivity rather than on the substrate with higher roughness.

Demand for dental health care is increasing, especially in the Orthodontic field. The main objective of orthodontic treatment is to restore malocclusion conditions. Malocclusion causes aesthetics issues for the patient’s face and several discomforts like a difficulty in breathing or swallowing or speaking. If not repaired, a malocclusion could lead to other diseases, such as a greater risk of perforated teeth, gum irritation and temporomandibular disorder or pain in the lower jaw. Malocclusion can be remedied by Orthodontic Brackets. This research aim is to fabricate an orthodontic bracket that is suitable for the teeth structure of the Indonesian people. The fabrication method uses an Investment Casting process. The results show that orthodontic brackets have been successfully produced within an acceptable geometric tolerance, with the exception that surface finish quality has to be improved. Keywords: Investment casting; Malocclusion; Orthodontic; Orthodontic bracket Published at: IJTech Vol 6, No 4 (2015) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14716/ijtech.v6i4.1862