Preliminary study of manufacturing technique using polyester/stainless steel composite braid for an artificial bone scaffold

In this study, polyester (PET) fiber and 304 stainless steel (SS) wires are twisted and then braided into multi-layer braids on a braiding machine, forming PET/SS composite braids. The braids form the artificial bone scaffold whose mechanical properties are tested and found to be acceptable and with good biocompatibility. However, scaffold made from polymer does not provide enough strength; thus, PET fibers are combined with SS wires to promote scaffold's mechanical properties and reduce the stress shielding effect. According to the test results, the braid angle increases with an increase in the number of teeth on the braiding gear; by contrast, tensile strength increases with a decrease in tooth number. In particular, when the gear ratio of the take-up gear to the braid gear is 90:50, the resulting braids yield the optimum tensile strength.