ARTICLES

Effect of build and unit cell orientation on the tensile, compressive, and torsional behavior of Ti-6Al-4V gyroid sheet-based structures

  • Gaetano Pollara ,
  • Amanda Heimbrook ,
  • Livan Fratini ,
  • Ken Gall
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  • 1. Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy;
    2. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA

Received date: 2024-05-03

  Revised date: 2024-08-01

  Online published: 2026-04-27

Supported by

This work was performed in part at the Duke University Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF), a member of the North Carolina Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN), which was supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. ECCS-2025064) as part of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI).

Abstract

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) enables the fabrication of intricate porous metallic structures, such as the sheet-based gyroid, recently used in orthopedic implants. Many implants are subjected to a complex stress environment, making strength verification across different loading modes imperative. This study investigates the effect of both unit cell and build orientation on gyroid structures. Build orientation and unit cell orientation were varied from 0° to 90° in 15° increments to determine the degree of anisotropy of Ti-6Al-4V samples in tension, compression, and torsion. For the relatively isotropic gyroid structure, build orientation was the most influential factor on anisotropy in tension and compression. The samples with 30° build orientation (B30) showed the highest strength across all three loading modes due to the overall print quality and orientation of layers withstanding the applied forces. These results guide the design optimization of 3D printed orthopedic implants with varying build and unit cell orientation.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-025-00566-9

Cite this article

Gaetano Pollara , Amanda Heimbrook , Livan Fratini , Ken Gall . Effect of build and unit cell orientation on the tensile, compressive, and torsional behavior of Ti-6Al-4V gyroid sheet-based structures[J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2026 , 14(2) : 259 -273 . DOI: 10.1007/s40436-025-00566-9

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