Effect of electropolishing on mechanical property enhancement of Ti6Al4V porous materials fabricated by selective laser melting

Metal additive manufacturing technologies such as laser powder bed fusion (so-called selective laser melting) have been widely applied in the field of aerospace or medical device. Moreover, porous materials have been extensively studied due to the maturity of metal additive manufacturing technology. The stress shielding effects can be reduced and the bone integration between the human bones and medical devices can be improved by introducing porous materials. Thus, the medical device would be more stable after implantation. However, in our previous study, the mechanical properties of porous materials are not only affected by the porous structure and porosity but also affected by the surface roughness and the ratio between surface roughness and strut diameter. In this study, to investigate and explore such issues, two major topics will be researched, which are (1) the formulation development of the electrolyte with a surfactant to increase the surface finish effectiveness during the electropolishing process of 3D printed Ti-6Al-4V porous materials; (2) the exploration of the relationship between the mechanical properties and the surface roughness/other factors. Also, the effect of surface roughness on mechanical properties was evaluated in terms of work of fracture and specific energy absorption.