Electrochemical Surface Finishing of Additively Manufactured Metals

Additive manufacturing of metallic components offers unprecedented design freedom but often yields parts with elevated surface roughness, residual defects and altered microstructures that compromise mechanical strength, corrosion resistance and functional performance. Electrochemical surface finishing encompasses a suite of non-contact processes whereby controlled anodic dissolution under an applied potential removes asperities and near-surface irregularities, producing uniform, oxide-rich layers and mirror-like finishes. By tuning electrolyte composition, current density, temperature and cell geometry, these techniques can target complex internal channels and micro-scale features without mechanical stress. Hybrid approaches combining electrochemical action with abrasive or mechanical forces have emerged to accelerate material removal and access tight geometries. Recent developments prioritise eco-friendly electrolytes, integrated process monitoring and adaptive voltage control to enhance process stability, reproducibility and sustainability. Such advances are driving deployment of electrochemical finishing for aerospace components, biomedical implants and precision micro-devices, where surface integrity is critical to fatigue life, biocompatibility and fluid dynamics.

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Electrochemical Surface Finishing of Additively Manufactured Metals publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical surface finishing of additively manufactured metals across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Additive Manufacturing (AM): A process of producing three-dimensional structures by layer-by-layer addition of material, often resulting in high surface roughness and complex internal geometries.

Electrochemical Polishing (EP): A finishing technique that uses an electrolytic cell to selectively dissolve surface asperities under controlled voltage or current, yielding smooth, passive oxide layers.

Dry Mechanical-Electrochemical Polishing (DMECP): A hybrid finishing process combining mechanical abrasion with limited-volume electrochemical dissolution to enhance material removal and access narrow features without flooding.

Overpotential: The additional voltage applied beyond the equilibrium potential to drive an electrochemical reaction at an increased rate, often used to accelerate polishing of rough surfaces.

Selecting Laser Melting (SLM): A powder-bed fusion AM technique in which a laser fully melts metal powder to form dense parts, frequently requiring post-processing to improve surface quality.

References

1. Dry mechanical-electrochemical polishing of selective laser melted 316L stainless steel. Materials & Design (2020).
2. Highly effective smoothening of 3D-printed metal structures via overpotential electrochemical polishing. Materials Research Letters (2019).
3. Electropolishing and Shaping of Micro-Scale Metallic Features. Micromachines (2022).