Electrochemical Surface Finishing of Additively Manufactured Parts

This paper will discuss the potential of a pulse reverse electrochemical surface finishing process for finishing, deburring, radiusing, polishing, and selective material removal from parts produced using additive manufacturing and hot isostatic pressing processes. Unlike conventional electrochemical surface finishing processes, the pulse reverse process does not require low conductivity/high viscosity electrolytes or the addition of chemical species (like HF) to remove the passive film during electropolishing of passive and strongly passive materials like Ti alloys. This paper will focus on a scalable pulse/pulse reverse electrofinishing processes developed by Faraday Technology for application to additively manufactured parts of various material groups and structural shapes. The materials that have been previously evaluated include, but are not limited to, titanium alloys, tantalum alloys, nickel alloys, stainless steels, niobium, and molybdenum alloys.