Characteristics of Stainless Steel 316L Artificial Lumbar Disk Model Made by Investment Casting

Investment casting (IC) is often used to produce implants. Product characterization must be done to find out the compatibility of the implant by adjusting the bioactive area to unite with bone and tissue. The purposes of the research are to investigate the porosity, surface roughness, density, hardness and microstructure of artificial lumbar disc model. This model used SS 316L that was manufactured by IC method. The mold was produced from the zirconium-based ceramic material. The porosity, surface roughness, density, hardness and microstructure were discussed. The results show that the defects pinhole and surface shrinkage porosity are visible on the surface of the model. It has Ra of 4,64 μm, density of 7,827 gr/cm
³
, and hardness of 185 VHN. The test samples that is conducted randomly in different positions shows the results of Ra, density and hardness that are almost the same. Hence, the investment casting method can be used for manufacturing artificial lumbar disc models with several improvements.