Magnesium stents manufacturing: Experimental application of a novel hybrid thin-walled investment casting approach

The present study addresses a thin-walled investment casting methodology of AZ91D-1 wt% CaO magnesium alloy for stent manufacturing. Additive manufacturing and Yttria-based coating were applied to optimize the process. An induction melting furnace assisted by vacuum was used to cast magnesium alloy stents with 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm wall thickness under an argon-protective atmosphere. According to the proposed methodology and the results obtained for coated models, no metal-mould interface reactions were found, revealing samples with a good surface finish and sane microstructure. The cast magnesium stents without coating were compromised, resulting in samples with a high degree of reactions and impurities. Microscopic examination and hardness measurements demonstrated the effectiveness of the process.