The Use of Electropolishing Surface Treatment on IN718 Parts Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process

In various applications of additively manufactured Ni-based superalloys, high surface finish quality is required. In this work, electropolishing surface treatment with anhydrous electrolyte solution was employed to improve the surface quality of the IN718 parts fabricated by laser powder bed fusion process. Various process parameters including electropolishing voltage, temperature, electrolyte spacing and electrolyte flow speed were investigated for their effect on the improvement of surface roughness characteristics. In addition, the effect of electrolyte flow uniformity on the surface quality deviation was investigated. The results provided additional insights to the recently proposed polishing methods proposed by the same group, which clearly indicates the potential benefit of introducing highly regulated electrolyte flow in the polishing of AM metal parts.