Electrolytic-plasma polishing of cobalt-chromium alloys for medical products

In the manufacture of implants that are subject to increased cyclic loads, cobalt-chromium alloys with high hardness- and wear resistance have recently been widely used. Roughness of working surfaces is one of the most important characteristics of such products. The traditional processes of finishing the surface of cobalt-chromium alloy implants are based on mechanical and electrochemical methods. The disadvantages of mechanical methods are low productivity, susceptibility to the introduction of foreign particles, difficulties in processing of complex geometric shapes. For electrochemical technologies the treated materials are considered intractable, harmful electrolytes, consisting of solutions of acids, are used in the process of polishing. As an alternative to existing methods, it was proposed to use an environmentally safe method of electrolytic-plasma polishing, the main advantage of which is the use of aqueous solutions of salts with a concentration of 3–5 % as electrolytes. According to the results of the technological process, it has been established that at most electrolyte-plasma polishing modes of cobalt-chromium alloys for medical purposes, a relief in the form of a grid of protrusions occurs on the surface, the origin of which can be explained by the heterogeneity of the material structure that occurs at the stage of casting. Moreover, the height of the formed relief protrusions has a direct impact on the amount of surface roughness. As a result of studies, electrolyte-plasma polishing process modes were established, ensuring the formation of a smooth surface without the presence of embossed protrusions, smoothing the microrelief with the removal of scratches resulting from pre-grinding, achieving a low roughness value (Ra 0.057 micron) and a high reflection coefficient (0.7), which fully meets the requirements for the surface of the implants.