Metals and materials processing

Several electrochemical methods are employed in the metals-processing industry because of their ability to manufacture or surface-finish metal articles, fabrications and components which are difficult or impossible to produce by traditional mechanical workshop techniques. The most important methods are electrochemical forming, machining, grinding, debarring and etching. 

The principles of electrochemistry are foreign to industries based on mechanical engineering and the electrolytes necessary for an electrochemical process cause corrosion in the workshop. Therefore, electrochemical methods have generally been developed by specialist companies or sections. This situation has minimized their impact on the engineering industry as a whole and their full potential has yet to be realized. 

Rapid and diverse advances in semiconductor fabrication have also provided an incentive for the development of electrochemical etching of some such materials. 

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