title: An experimental study of electrochemical polishing for micro-electro-discharge-machined stainless-steel stents.
abstract: This paper reports electrochemical polishing (EP) of 316L stainless-steel structures patterned using micro-electro-discharge machining (μEDM) for application to stents including intelligent stents based on micro-electro-mechanical-systems technologies. For the process optimization, 10 μm deep cavities μEDMed on the planar material were polished in a phosphoric acid-based electrolyte with varying current densities and polishing times. The EP condition with a current density of 1.5 A/cm(2) for an EP time of 180 s exhibited the highest surface quality with an average roughness of 28 nm improved from~400 nm produced with high-energy μEDM. The EP of μEDMed surfaces was observed to produce almost constant smoothness regardless of the initial roughness determined by varying discharge energies. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was performed on the μEDMed surfaces before and after EP. A custom rotational apparatus was used to polish tubular test samples including stent-like structures created using μEDM, demonstrating uniform removal of surface roughness and sharp edges from the structures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Derry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lappin
authors.forename: Abdolreza Rashidi
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahata
mesh_terms: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D004573:Electrolytes; D004867:Equipment Design; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D008904:Miniaturization; D010756:Phosphoric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission / Q000379:methods; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D004573:Electrolytes; D010756:Phosphoric Acids; D013193:Stainless Steel; C030242:phosphoric acid