Static and fatigue testing of cages is performed according to ASTM F2077. For standard materials such as metal or PEEK, load blocks are manufactured by multipass milling with a small radius cutter. Due to the brittle behavior of ceramics, small geometrical deviations at the edges of the load block do generate high contact stresses.
Endolab® has developed an additive manufacturing method that does generate high precision load blocks meeting the material requirements given by ASTM F2033.