Abstract
Objectives
The Ti6Al4V ELI alloy produced via laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) has attracted interest
for use in dental applications. However, surface finishing is an important property
that can be managed by various methods. The purpose of this study was to investigate
the effects of electropolishing (EP) on the surface roughness and corrosion resistance
of L-PBF Ti6Al4V ELI alloy.
Materials and Methods
The present study explored the influence of current density (0.3 A/cm2), voltage (15 V), and distance (2 and 4 cm) on the surface quality of L-PBF-printed
Ti6Al4V ELI. The potentiodynamic polarization testing was performed to investigate
the corrosion behavior of electropolished Ti6Al4V ELI alloy plates.
Statistical Analysis
The data variation was compared at different conditions of EP using a one-way analysis
of variance and Tukey's post hoc testing at a significance level of 5%.
Results
This study showed that EP significantly reduced the surface roughness and enhanced
corrosion resistance of printed Ti6Al4V ELI alloy with the best result achieved by
using 15 V and 2 cm of anode–cathode distance.
Conclusion
This study indicates that customized EP settings are crucial for optimizing the surface
properties of Ti6Al4V ELI for use in dental and biomedical applications. However,
the corrosion resistance can be reduced due to increased porosity resulting from the
EP treatment.
Keywords
corrosion - electropolishing - laser powder bed fusion - surface roughness - Ti6Al4V
