Electrochemical machining of 3D printed NiTi alloy: A preliminary study
Alessia Serena PERNA, Fabio SCHERILLO, Antonino SQUILLACE
Abstract. Electrochemical machining represents a viable approach for enhancing the surface quality of additively manufactured Nitinol components, which typically exhibit excessive roughness. In this study, the electrochemical behavior of Nitinol was examined in chloride- and nitrate-based solutions to evaluate their effectiveness in material removal and surface refinement. Potentiodynamic polarization tests indicated that these solutions facilitate alloy dissolution, with diffusion-controlled kinetics observed at elevated potentials. Preliminary ECM experiments demonstrated that the incorporation of Na2EDTA into chloride-based solutions increased material removal, likely due to the formation of highly soluble nickel and titanium complexes. Surface analysis revealed that chloride-containing solutions promoted selective nickel dissolution, while the combined chloride-nitrate solution mitigated process selectivity and reduced surface oxidation. These findings underscore the potential of ECM as an effective post-processing technique for improving the surface characteristics of Nitinol components fabricated via additive manufacturing.
Keywords
Nitinol, Additive Manufacturing, Electrochemical Machining, Chemical Smoothing
Published online 5/7/2025, 8 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Alessia Serena PERNA, Fabio SCHERILLO, Antonino SQUILLACE, Electrochemical machining of 3D printed NiTi alloy: A preliminary study, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 54, pp 305-312, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903599-33
The article was published as article 33 of the book Material Forming
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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