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Improve Ra Up To 50%, Prevent Corrosion & Eliminate Surface Defects On Critical Metal Parts. Achieve the highest-quality finish possible for your stainless steel, titanium, Nitinol, and other metal parts with precise, consistent and repeatable results you can count on from Anpllocnc Electropolishing.
Electropolishing is an electrochemical surface finishing process using a DC current delivered through an electrolyte solution to dissolve the surface of metal to a limited depth. The end result is a finish that meets or exceeds biopharmaceutical surface finish requirements. It can reduce Ra measurements by up to half that from mechanical polishing alone.
Additionally, electropolishing removes impurities, inclusions, and other embedded contaminants, also known as the Bielby layer, which forms during mechanical polishing. The result is a smooth, mirror-like finish where residue, contaminants and even single-cell bacteria, will have no place to lodge. Often, electropolishing is the final process in preparing a vessel for service. However, combining electropolishing with passivation achieves a smooth chromium rich surface with improved cleanability and superior resistance to corrosion. This level of finish is critical for high purity applications.
| Applicable Materials | Colors | Texture | Can be applied with |
| Steel, Stainless Steel | n/a | Smooth, glossy finish | Passivation, Tumbling |
Removes Surface Contamination and Oxide
Increases Corrosion Resistance
Deburring
Improves Appearance
Fatigue Life Improvement
Micro-finish Improvements
Hygienically Ultra Cleans Surfaces
Reduces Friction and Product Adhesion
Polishes and Deburrs Odd-Shaped Parts
Eliminates Direction Lines from Mechanical Polishing
Excellent machining or grinding operations can still leave imperfections invisible to the human eye, such as microburrs, microcracks, heat tint, oxide scale, and heat tint. Fortunately, all these blemishes can be addressed by electropolishing. It is an electrochemical process that removes a small layer, 0.001 to 0.0025 inches, from the surface of the workpiece. Think of it as the reverse of an electroplating operation.
This process is typically performed on stainless steel (series 300 or 400) machined or welded parts that Anpllocnc specializes in. However, aluminum and nitinol materials can also benefit from this finishing process. The parts are left bright, clean, and microscopically smooth with a Ra of 8 to 16 microinch finish achievable.
The process eliminates burrs and microcracks, leaving the parts with improved corrosion resistance, fatigue life, and pathogen resistance. Corrosion resistance is up to 20 times greater than passivation processes such as allodizing, as it only removes contaminates on the part’s surface.
| Electropolishing | Polishing |
|---|---|
| Through electropolishing to have smooth and bright metal surface | Through abrasion,cutting and deformation to have smooth and bright metal surface |
| Passivation film is formed on the metal surfaceN | No passivation film is formed |
| Complicated shapes and small workpieces can be processed | Only to make the simple shape metal parts |
| Fast production speed with cheaper cost | Slow production speed with higher cost |
Electropolishing is an electrochemical process used to improve the surface finish of a part by removing material to level microscopic peaks and valleys. This process can polish, passivate, and deburr the parts. This process works the opposite way than that of plating processes, as the part acts as the anode in the reaction. As the current passes through the part (anode), the surface is oxidized and dissolved in the solution to the cathode.
Electropolishing is very useful in polishing irregular parts with hard to reach surfaces. Additionally, only a small amount of material is removed, so tolerances will not be greatly affected by this process.
The electropolishing process is suitable for finishing a wide range of materials. In addition to stainless steel, companies use the process to finish aluminum, brass, copper, nickel, titanium, and many other metals and alloys. Some of the industries that use electropolishing are:
Anpllo is your partner for design support and manufacturing world-class products, parts, and tooling in various industries. Our mission encompasses accurate, on-time services to all our partners from concept to completion.
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