Investigation on Grinding Characteristics and Surface-Modifying Effects of Biocompatible Co-Cr Alloy

Co-Cr alloy used as a biomaterial is required to possess excellent resistance to corrosion, wear, and biocompatibility. In the present work, we performed Electrolytic In-Process Dressing grinding on Co-Cr alloy, and evaluated the processing characteristics and resulting surface properties. Final finishing using a #8000 wheel produced an extremely smooth ground surface with a roughness Ra of 7 nm. In addition, as compared with the conventionally polished samples, the ground samples demonstrated superior surface hardness and biocompatibility. These advantages can be attributed to the diffusion of several kinds of elements during the grinding process and the effect of grinding fluid compositions.