Abstract
The Co-Cr alloys have clinical histories as dental and orthopaedic implants, and recently as cardiovascular stent applications because they exhibit a high elastic modulus and radiopacity. In order to improve their mechanical and corrosion resistance, electropolishing is employed as the final process. Electropolishing, an anodic dissolution process in the transpassive state, is sensitively affected by process conditions such as current density, machining time, and electrode gap. In this study, the effect of the electropolishing conditions on surface roughness and corrosion resistance is investigated for Co-Cr alloys (L605). The most smooth surface is obtained when electropolishing is performed at 15-20 V for 15-30 sec with a electrode gap of 3.5 mm. It is found out that electropolishing reduces corrosion rate about one-tenth as much.
