Porous Bioceramics Produced by Impregnation of 3D-Printed Wax Mold: Ceramic Architectural Control and Process Limitations

Current architectural and production limitations prevent the manufacturing standardization and design of bioceramics. Such limitations have hindered advances in bone tissue engineering and regeneration. In this context, we propose a bioceramic manufacturing process based on the impregnation of wax molds produced by additive manufacturing. Hydroxyapatite bioceramics with custom architectures were fabricated to evaluate the reliability, robustness, and limitations of this process. Results indicate that this process preserves phase biocompatibility, permits homogeneous shrinkage of the biomaterial during heat treatment, and allows reproducible and precise manufacturing of custom architectures.