Fissures are long, fine cracks than can quickly become a serious problem, affecting both part performance and worker safety.
Electropolishing is a widely used metal finishing process that improves the life of metal parts, ensuring that they retain their original shape and design. These parts may come in various forms, including wire forms, laser-cut tubes, stampings and machine parts. During the manufacturing process, small flaws on the surface of these parts may be left behind. These flaws, often undetectable to the naked eye, can become sites for larger cracks or encourage oxidization, corrosion or other forms of deterioration.
Imperfections Eliminated
By removing these imperfections on the surface of metal parts, engineers have found electropolishing to significantly increase the life of metal parts. You may have found that stamped or welded metal parts occasionally have difficulties meeting their stress requirements. The mechanical process can often leave the part with small cracks and fissures, which only worsen with repeated use. Electropolishing is the solution.
Overview of Electropolishing
Developed in the 1950s and sometimes referred to as a “reverse plating” process, electropolishing is a technology that uses an electrochemical bath to remove the outer layer of a metal part. By dissolving a uniform layer of surface metal, the electropolishing process also eliminates fissures and other imperfections that may be present, including heat tint, oxide scaling, burrs, rust, micro cracks, micro pits and a multitude of other surface imperfections that can affect the functionality and longevity of a part.
Electropolishing significantly increases a part’s defense against corrosion, leaving it with a bright, luminous surface. Electropolishing can be performed on all varieties of stainless steel and nearly any alloy. Electropolishing provides 30 times more corrosion resistance than passivation. By removing a uniform layer of surface metal the superficial and imbedded contaminants are removed and the surface is left in a passive state. We can remove as little as .0002” total (.0001” per surface) material from your part.
At Able Electropolishing, we offer our electropolishing service for a wide array of common and specialized alloys, including:
- All Stainless Steels
- Carbon Steels
- Nickel Alloys
- Titanium
- Aluminum
- Copper Alloys
- Nitinol, Tungsten and other specialty alloys
With its electropolishing technology, Able can take away enough surface material to eliminate cracks and fissures, allowing the part to function for a longer period of time.
Contact Able today to learn more about this process and how we can help you.
