Purpose: At present, materials research in the area of SPD (severe plastic deformation)
processes is very intensive. Materials processed by these techniques show better
mechanical properties and have finer grain when compared to the input feedstock.
The refined microstructure may be ultrafine-grained or nanostructured, where the grain
size becomes less than 100 nm. One of the materials used for such processes is CP
(commercially pure) titanium of various grades, which is widely used for manufacturing
dental implants. The article deals with one of the technologies available for the production
of ultrafine-grained titanium: Conform technology. CP titanium processed by CONFORM
technology exhibits improved mechanical properties and very favourable biocompatibility,
due to its fine-grained structure. The article presents the current experience in the production
of ultrafine CP titanium using this technology. The main objective of this article is describing
the behaviour of CP titanium during forming in the Conform device and its subsequent use
in dental implantology.
Design/methodology/approach: In the present study, commercially pure Grade 2
titanium was processed using the CONFORM machine. The numerical simulation of the
process was done using FEM method with DEFORMTM software. The evaluation was
performed by simple tensile testing and transmission electron microscopy. The first
conclusions were derived from the determined mechanical properties and based on
analogies in available publications on a similar topic.
Findings: This study confirmed that the SPD process improves mechanical properties and
does not impair the ductility of the material. The CONFORM process enables the continuous
production of ultrafine-grained or nanostructured materials.
Research limitations/implications: At the present work, the results show the possible
way of continuous production of ultrafine-grained or nanostructured materials. Nevertheless,
the further optimization is needed in order to improve the final quality of wires and stabilize
the process. As these factors will be solved, the technology will be ready for the industry.
Practical implications: The article gives the practical information about the continuous
production of ultrafine-grained pure titanium Grade 2 and the possibility of use this material
for dental implants.
Originality/value: The present paper gives information about the influence of the
CONFORM technology on final mechanical and structural properties with the emphasis on
technological aspects
Strength and torsion fracture mechanism of commercially pure titanium with ultrafine-grained structure
