Exploratory Research on Electrochemical 3D Printing of Ultra-Thin Cutting Blades

Ultra-thin diamond cutting blades are widely used in the cutting or slicing of hard and brittle materials. Conventional lateral deposition processes require the detachment or corrosion of the substrate, leading to inconsistent composite deposition layers on both sides, causing asymmetric cutting forces and processing defects. To address these issues, a novel technique based on electrochemical 3D printing has been proposed to explore the possibility of circumferential growth of annular ultra-thin blades. Firstly, the conventional electroplating process for preparing ultra-thin cutting blades was analyzed, and a technical scheme for electrochemical circumferential 3D printing of ultra-thin blades was proposed. Subsequently, an electrochemical circumferential 3D printing experimental platform was designed and manufactured, and the forming mechanism of the annular nickel thin film during cathode rotation was investigated. The experiments demonstrated that when using a substrate diameter of 50 mm and an anode-cathode distance of 1.5mm, adjusting the processing current within the range of 0.1 A to 0.15 A, and controlling the cathode rotation speed between 1 r/s and 1.5 r/s, uniform nickel metal thin films can be achieved. This presents a novel approach for exploring the production of precision cutting blades through the electrochemical circumferential 3D printing method.