Methods for making textured ceramic implants

1. A method for forming a ceramic implant having a rough surface texture, the method comprising:

a. forming a green body of a first ceramic composition;

b. reducing the green body thereby forming ceramic fragments;

c. filling a mold with a second ceramic composition and compressing the second ceramic composition to a predetermined pressure to form a ceramic base;

d. adding the ceramic fragments to the mold and forming an outer layer over at least a portion of the ceramic base;

e. applying pressure to the mold to compress the outer layer onto the ceramic base and to form a green assembly; and

f. sintering the green assembly to form a ceramic implant having a rough surface texture.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a ceramic powder is mixed with the ceramic fragments to form a mixture and the mixture is added to the mold to form the outer layer.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the mixture comprises a weight ratio of ceramic powder to ceramic fragments from about 1:5 to about 1:3.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a spacing agent is mixed with the ceramic fragments of the outer layer and the spacing agent is removed during sintering the green assembly.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sifting the ceramic fragments and selecting a desired particle size from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm for use in forming the outer layer.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second ceramic compositions comprises a ceramic powder having an average particle diameter from about 0.1 μm to about 5 μm.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic fragments have a size distribution wherein at least about 90% of the fragments have a diameter of from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm, and at least about 25% of the fragments have a diameter of from about 1 mm to about 2 mm.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the ceramic fragments are selected having a size distribution wherein about 75 wt % of the fragments have a diameter from about 1 mm to about 2 mm and about 25 wt % of the fragments have a diameter from about 2 mm to about 5 mm.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the ceramic fragments are selected having a size distribution wherein about 50 wt % of the fragments have a diameter from about 1 mm to about 2 mm and about 50 wt % of the fragments have a diameter from about 2 mm to about 5 mm.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying pressure to the mold comprises using an isostatic pressing technique to compress the green assembly to a pressure of from about 50,000 to about 75,000 psi.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying pressure to the mold comprises pressing a plurality of the ceramic fragments into the ceramic base.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sintering the ceramic fragments prior to adding the ceramic fragments to the mold.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second ceramic compositions have substantially the same chemical composition.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second ceramic compositions comprises a ceramic selected from the group consisting of alumina, zirconia, metal nitride, metal carbide, and mixtures thereof.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising shaping the ceramic base prior to adding the ceramic fragments to the mold and forming the outer layer.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein shaping the ceramic base comprises using a mandrel to shape and press the second ceramic composition.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing a porous metallic layer over at least a portion of the rough surface texture of the ceramic implant.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the porous metallic layer comprises a titanium alloy.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing a layer of a titanium alloy over at least a portion of the rough surface texture of the implant using an ion beam enhanced deposition technique and further depositing a porous metallic layer over at least a portion of the titanium alloy layer using a porous plasma spray technique.

20. A method for forming a ceramic implant having a rough surface texture, the method comprising:

a. filling a mold with a ceramic composition and compressing the ceramic composition to a predetermined pressure to form a ceramic base;

b. adding ceramic fragments to the mold and forming an outer layer over at least a portion of the ceramic base;

c. applying pressure of from about 50,000 to about 75,000 psi to the mold to compress the outer layer onto the ceramic base and to form a green assembly; and

d. sintering the green assembly to form a ceramic implant having a rough surface texture.