Professor Tim Sercombe

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is one of the more important 3D Printing technologies as it is able to produce parts in a range of common engineering metals and alloys. During the process, metal powder is melted using a high intensity infrared laser beam that traces the geometry of each layer. The part bed descends, a fresh layer of powder is deposited on top, and the process continues.

Theoretically, parts of any geometry constructed from any metal can be processed via SLM. This technology is now able to produce a patient-specific device that simultaneously matches the external shape of the bone it is replacing and has an internal architecture that promotes healing; this would help reduce the pain and suffering experienced by these patients.

Some of the key questions that Tim is currently attempting to answer revolve around what is the ideal porous structure that will maximise bone ingrowth and how we can take advantage of the latest generation of low stiffness titanium alloys to produce implants with enhanced properties.

Another area of research is 3D Bioprinting, which couples 3D printing technologies and tissue engineering, with the aim of producing living structures that will be used to help the body regenerate from disease or injury. The ultimate goal of this is the printing of fully functioning organs, but there is a huge amount of work to be done to get to this stage.

One of the key stepping stones in the journey to fully-functioning organs is the ability to produce organoids – small scale organ-like tissue that has a realistic micro-anatomy. These can then be used to help us understand the causes of disease and to develop enhanced treatments.