AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB026240243
Submit to IJB
Cite this article
8
Download
292
Views
Related Info Links
Google Scholar
More by Authors Links
Guoqing Zhang
Journal Browser
Volume | Year
Issue
Search
Forthcoming Issue
Current Issue
View All
News and Announcements
View All
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Design and manufacturing of a 3D-printed field-driven metamaterial pelvic bone plate

Guoqing Zhang1* ,  Xiaoyu Zhou1 ,  Junxin Li2 ,  Juanjuan Xie1 ,  Yongsheng Zhou1 ,  Aibing Huang3
Show Less
1 Department of Mechanical Design and Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan, China
2 Contract Section, State-owned Assets Management Office, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan, China
3 Department of Orthopedics, Taizhou People’s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China
IJB, 026240243 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJB026240243
Received: 8 June 2026 | Revised: 20 June 2026 | Accepted: 23 June 2026 | Published online: 24 June 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Download PDF
XML
Cite
Abstract

Conventional pelvic bone plates have inherent limitations, including poor anatomical matching, unsatisfactory mechanical performance, excessive weight, and inadequate biocompatibility. This study aims to develop a personalized pelvic bone plate by integrating field-driven metamaterial design with three-dimensional (3D) printing. The methodology involves computed tomography (CT) and Mimics software for reconstruction of the pelvic model, finite element simulation for topology optimization, and 3D printing for direct fabrication of the designed plate. The results demonstrate that the bone plate reconstructed from the pelvic fracture surface exhibited high anatomical fit. After topology optimization, the deformation of the bone plate increased by approximately 15%, accompanied by uniform stress distribution without obvious stress concentration. For the field-driven porous bone plate, the relative density of the porous structure increased with increasing local stress. The partially porous bone plate achieved a 30.77 % weight reduction while combining the favorable mechanical properties of solid plates with the biological potential of porous architectures. The 3D-printed personalized bone plate exhibited excellent forming quality, surface finish, and assembly fit. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed structural design and 3D printing process, providing theoretical support and technical references for the subsequent development of high-performance personalized pelvic bone plates.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
3D printing
Pelvic bone plate
Topological optimization
Porous structure
Manufacturing quality
Funding
The study was funded by the Natural Science Foundation Project of Henan Province (grant no. 252300421971) and the Zhoukou Science and Technology Plan Project (grant no. ZKSKJGG 100084).
Conflict of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
References
  1. GBD 2019 Fracture Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of bone fractures in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Healthy Longev. 2021;2(9):e580-e592. doi: 10.1016/S2666-7568(21)00172-0
  2. Wang Y, Zhang H, Liang W. Degradation behavior and mechanical properties of magnesium alloy plate in vivo. J Med Biomech. 2021;36(6):935-939. [In Chinese] doi: 10.16156/j.1004-7220.2021.06.016
  3. Han Z, Bin H, Wang B, et al. Application of 3D printing technology in preoperative planning of scapular fracture. Chin J Tissue Eng Res. 2020;24(12):1864-1869. [In Chinese] doi: 10.3969/j.issn.2095-4344.1987
  4. Ilhan E, Ulag S, Sahin AY, et al. Fabrication of tissue-engineered tympanic membrane patches using 3D-printing technology. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2021;114:104219. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.104219
  5. Xu Y, Liu B, Zhang Y, Lin F, Yin X. Analysis of the application effect of S2 alar screw in 23 cases of complex lower lumbar spine surgery. Fujian Med J. 2019;41(2):37-40. [In Chinese] doi: 10.20148/j.fmj.2019.02.016
  6. Liu J, Ren Z, Zhang S, et al. In vitro cytological comparison of osseointegration properties between biomimetic bone trabecular and regular porous structure. J Xi'an Jiaotong Univ (Med Ed). 2023;44(6):983-989. [In Chinese] doi: 10.7652/jdyxb202306023
  7. Zhang G, Li J, Li J, Zhou X, Xie J, Wang A. Selective laser melting molding of individualized femur implant: design, process, optimization. J Bionic Eng. 2021;18(1):128-137. doi: 10.1007/s42235-021-0007-1
  8. Al-Dulimi Z, Wallis M, Tan DK, Maniruzzaman M, Nokhodchi A. 3D printing technology as innovative solutions for biomedical applications. Drug Discov Today. 2021;26(2):360-383. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2020.11.013
  9. Zhang G, Li J, Wang H, Shangguan C, Xie J, Zhou Y. Research on the impact toughness of 3D-printed CoCrMo alloy components based on fractal theory. Biomimetics. 2025;10(5):292. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics10050292
  10. Kurzynowski T, Pawlak A, Smolina I. The potential of SLM technology for processing magnesium alloys in aerospace industry. Arch Civ Mech Eng. 2020;20(1):23. doi: 10.1007/s43452-020-00033-1
  11. Wei Z, Li H, Xiong X, Zou F, Zou Y, Shuang F. 3D printed personalized plate internal fixation for severe tibial plateau fractures. Chin J Bone Jt Inj. 2021;36(10):1087-1089. [In Chinese] doi: 10.7531/j.issn.1672-9935.2021.10.027
  12. Wang H, Wang M. Biomechanical research and analysis of 3D printed personalized acetabular bone plate design. Orthop Biomech Mater Clin Res. 2020;17(6):41-44. [In Chinese] doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-5972.2020.06.010
  13. Zhang C, Jia D, Li F. Design and simulation of a titanium alloy lattice bone plate for 3D printing. J Shanghai Jiaotong Univ. 2021;55(2):170-178. [In Chinese] doi: 10.16183/j.cnki.jsjtu.2019.196
  14. Shi H, Zhao F, Wei S, Ma Z, Wang Y. Evaluated the digital design combined with three-dimensional printing technique in the treatment of complicated tibial plateau fractures. Ningxia Med J. 2019;41(10):875-878. [In Chinese] doi: 10.13621/j.1001-5949.2019.10.0875
  15. Pobloth AM, Checa S, Razi H, et al. Mechanobiologically optimized 3D titanium-mesh scaffolds enhance bone regeneration in critical segmental defects in sheep. Sci Transl Med. 2018;10(423):eaam8828. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aam8828
  16. Vijayavenkataraman S, Gopinath A, Lu WF. A new design of 3D-printed orthopedic bone plates with auxetic structures to mitigate stress shielding and improve intra-operative bending. Bio-Des Manuf. 2020;3(2):98-108. doi: 10.1007/s42242-020-00066-8
  17. Mie K, Ishimoto T, Okamoto M, et al. Impaired bone quality characterized by apatite orientation under stress shielding following fixing of a fracture of the radius with a 3D printed Ti-6Al-4V custom-made bone plate in dogs. PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0237678. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237678
  18. Liu B, Ma Z, Li J, et al. Experimental study of a 3D printed permanent implantable porous Ta-coated bone plate for fracture fixation. Bioact Mater. 2022;10:269-280. doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.09.009
  19. Yao Y, Mo Z, Wu G, et al. A personalized 3D-printed plate for tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis: design, fabrication, biomechanical evaluation and postoperative assessment. Comput Biol Med. 2021;133:104368. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104368
  20. Hrabe NW, Heinl P, Bordia RK, Körner C, Fernandes RJ. Maintenance of a bone collagen phenotype by osteoblast-like cells in 3D periodic porous titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) structures fabricated by selective electron beam melting. Connect Tissue Res. 2013;54(6):351-360. doi: 10.3109/03008207.2013.822864
  21. Günther F, Pilz S, Hirsch F, et al. Shape optimization of additively manufactured lattices based on triply periodic minimal surfaces. Addit Manuf. 2023;73:103659. doi: 10.1016/j.addma.2023.103659
  22. El-Sayed MA, Essa K, Ghazy M, Hassanin H. Design optimization of additively manufactured titanium lattice structures for biomedical implants. Int J Adv Manuf Technol. 2020;110(9-10):2257-2268. doi: 10.1007/s00170-020-05982-8
  23. Al-Tamimi AA. Topology optimization of patient-specific custom-fit distal tibia plate: a spiral distal tibia bone fracture. Appl Sci. 2022;12(20):10569. doi: 10.3390/app122010569
  24. Strömberg N. Optimal grading of TPMS-based lattice structures with transversely isotropic elastic bulk properties. Eng Optim. 2021;53(11):1871-1883. doi: 10.1080/0305215x.2020.1837790
  25. China Food and Drug Administration. YY 0017-2016: Implants for Osteosynthesis—Metallic Bone Plates. Beijing, China: China Food and Drug Administration; 2016. [In Chinese]
  26. Wang L, Kang J, Sun C, Li D, Cao Y, Jin Z. Mapping porous microstructures to yield desired mechanical properties for application in 3D printed bone scaffolds and orthopaedic implants. Mater Des. 2017;133:62-68. doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2017.07.021
  27. Satapathy PK, Sahoo B, Panda LN. Finite element analysis of functionally graded bone plate at femur bone fracture site. IOP Conf Ser: Mater Sci Eng. 2018;330(1):012027. doi: 10.1088/1757-899x/330/1/012027
  28. Zhang G, Li J, Shangguan C, et al. Design and performance of 3D-printed cross-scale metamaterial porous structures for orthopedic implants. Int J Bioprint. 2025;11(6):515-530. doi: 10.36922/IJB025390401
  29. Guoqing Z, Junxin L, Xiaoyu Z, Anmin W. Optimization design of support structure based on 3D printing technology. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):18225. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-68733-9
  30. Wei X. Surface roughness control and process optimization of Ti6Al4V formed by laser selective melting. Master's thesis. Guangzhou, China: South China University of Technology; 2022. [In Chinese] doi: 10.27151/d.cnki.ghnlu.2022.000043
Share
Back to top
International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here
Accept