Abstract
The interest in porous light metals has grown rapidly in recent years with the widespread development of synthesis methods for porous aluminium and titanium. However, methods for preparing porous magnesium (Mg) have received the least attention, especially with topologically-ordered architectures. The aim of this letter is to report on an indirect solid free-form fabrication method for the processing of open-cell porous Mg with controllable macroscopic architectures. Preliminary investigations into the accuracy and limitations of the process are reported. It is found that the method is capable of replicating highly accurate porous structures (similar to 5-12% error) with macroscopic features as fine as 0.8 mm. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.