Electrochemical removal of secondary roughness on selective laser melted titanium with an ethylene-glycol-based electrolyte

Partially sintered satellite particles in scaffolds produced via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) create discrepancies between the as-designed and the as-manufactured properties (esp. porosity). These discrepancies impede direct comparison of manufactured parts performance to computer simulations. We propose anodic electrolysis using an electrolyte based on non-aqueous ethlylene-glycol TiCl4 (EthaTi) to remove the secondary roughness on ti-tanium SLM-ed porous scaffolds. Post-processed gyroid scaffolds regained 10% porosity with respect to their as-manufactured value (65.20 +/- 0.23%), which was close to the as-designed value (75.12%). Compared to other well-established electrolytes, this method is cost-effective, user-friendly and practical, as it requires shorter processing times, is temperature-stable and of gentler chemistry.

Automated summary

Anodic electrolysis using EthaTi as the electrolyte is proposed to remove secondary roughness on titanium SLM-ed porous scaffolds, allowing the scaffolds to regain their porosity. This method is cost-effective, user-friendly, and practical compared to other electrolytes.