Influence of Infill Density on the Fatigue Performance of FDM-Manufactured Orthopaedic Plates

Abstract

Orthopaedic plates are long-established medical devices conventionally manufactured from metals, most notably titanium alloys. The introduction of Additive Manufacturing (AM) has created new opportunities to design implants with complex internal architectures, enabling precise control over infill patterns and densities that directly influence mechanical properties and fatigue performance. Biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) have attracted growing interest in biomedical engineering, potentially reducing the need for secondary implant-removal surgery if degradation rates are carefully controlled and clinically approved. Additionally, AM offers the ability to customise internal structure for improved mechanical performance and load-bearing, while also providing the possibility of integrating advanced functionalities, such as controlled drug delivery. Building on previous work by our research group at the University of Belgrade, this study investigates the fatigue behaviour of the best-performing AM-optimised orthopaedic plate design. Numerical models incorporating honeycomb infill structures with the full range of achievable densities were developed to assess structural integrity under fatigue loading. Fatigue crack growth was simulated in ANSYS Mechanical (ANSYS Inc., Canonsburg, PA, USA) software, employing a four-point bending configuration in accordance with the ASTM F382 standard. A validated PLA material model was implemented at a reduced load level (10%) relative to previous studies. Direct comparison with titanium plates was avoided due to fundamentally different material properties, focusing instead on infill architecture to identify optimal AM design strategies for orthopaedic plates.