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An experimental study of electrochemical polishing for micro-electro-discharge-machined stainless-steel stents

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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/cm2 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.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund. K. Takahata is supported by the Canada Research Chairs program. The authors would like to thank Dr. Boris Stoeber for access to the optical profilometer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Derry Lappin

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Abdolreza Rashidi Mohammadi & Kenichi Takahata

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  1. Derry Lappin
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  2. Abdolreza Rashidi Mohammadi
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  3. Kenichi Takahata
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Correspondence to Kenichi Takahata.

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Lappin, D., Mohammadi, A.R. & Takahata, K. An experimental study of electrochemical polishing for micro-electro-discharge-machined stainless-steel stents. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 23, 349–356 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-011-4513-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-011-4513-2

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