A virtuous cycle in materials engineering and surface finishing: design-print-image

ABSTRACT

Electrochemical cells continue to be important in the synthesis and processing of commodity and speciality chemicals, environmental remediation, energy conversion and electrodeposition. A current challenge is an increasing need to achieve a high performance from cells which can be easily designed, manufactured or modified. Conventional manufacturing has involved machining of cast and extruded materials in a mechanical engineering workshop, which can involve delays, the need for skilled specialists and considerable costs. Increasingly, the benefits of fast prototyping as a route to manufacture are being realised. Modern approaches to detailed imaging of structures (e.g. by computed tomography) can be combined with on-screen, digital design (via computer software suites), followed by modification then data export to a 3D printer. In this fashion, a fast, flexible, cost effective and attractive route to manufacture of prototype electrodes and cell bodies can be realised. This review paper demonstrates the success of a design-image-manufacture cycle to realise polymeric electrochemical flow cell compartments and electrodes. Future developments are suggested, with 3D printing likely to offer creative solutions in many surface finishing applications.

KEYWORDS:

• Cell geometry
• design
• digital software
• fast prototyping
• manufacture
• surface finishing

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to several colleagues who have influenced FCW’s approach to engineering design. Prof David R. Gabe provided the freedom and encouragement to incorporate appropriate polymers, metals and coatings, fabricated by conventional machining and surface finishing techniques, into a rotating cylinder rig, during FCW’s PhD studies at Loughborough University. The late Dr Rod J. Marshall (University of Southampton) shared an enthusiasm for making working prototypes in a well-equipped garden shed, before heading for the machine tool workshop. LFA shared an enthusiasm for designing, making and testing modern prototype electrochemical flow cells, electrodes and polymer meshes, which incorporated fast prototyping techniques, during his PhD and postdoctoral studies at Southampton University, which were co-supervised by CPDL.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

F. C. Walsh http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4662-4313

L. F. Arenas http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9579-5082

C. Ponce de León http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1907-5913