Environmentally Benign Electropolishing of Biomedical Alloys

A process for surface finishing of medical device and implant alloys is described. Unlike conventional electrochemical surface finishing processes, Faraday’s pulse reverse process does not require low conductivity/high viscosity electrolytes and does not require the addition of aggressive chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid to remove the passive film associated with electropolishing of passive and strongly passive materials. This paper focuses on pulse/pulse reverse electropolishing of Nitinol and other metals and alloys containing titanium, molybdenum and niobium.