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Electropolishing equipment produces a bright, corrosion-resistant, highly-polished surface on stainless steel and other metals. Quality electropolisher machines ensure repeatable, micro-tolerance surface roughness finishing that can be easily validated to regulatory and industry requirements.
Best Technology offers the industry’s leading precision and industrial electropolish equipment. Types of systems include:
- Small tabletop electropolishing equipment
- Wet bench electropolishing equipment
- Large scale industrial electropolish systems
- Dry electropolishing machines
All electropolishing systems are designed around the customer-specific application, from the size of the rectifier, to the size of the tank, to the number and placement of cathodes.
Types of Electropolishing Equipment for Every Application and Part Size:
Small Tabletop Electropolishing Equipment
Our small tabletop electropolishing equipment is suitable for laboratory use and prototyping of small- to medium-sized parts, medical instruments or jewelry. Tank volume for tabletop electropolish equipment typically ranges from 0.5 to 2 gallons, but with an external tank can be as much as 15 gallons. Also called benchtop electropolisher machines, these units are available with either 24-volt or 48-volt power supply rectifiers.
Ideal for electropolishing stainless steel, tabletop electropolish machines are also effective for polishing and deburring cobalt chrome, brass, copper and other metals.
Wet Bench Electropolishing Equipment
The all-in-one design of multi-tank electropolishing wet benches stands in contrast to benchtop systems that sit on a bench or table. Also known as electropolishing consoles, wet bench electropolishing equipment offers the convenience and efficiency of combining washing, rinsing, electropolishing, and drying into a single, unified piece of equipment.
Typical construction materials are polypropylene for the electropolishing tank and stainless steel for the bench. The wet bench configuration allows for plumbing and electrical connections in and out at one easy location, rather than wiring and plumbing each tank individually.
Large Scale Electropolish Systems
Large-scale electropolish systems, also called floor-standing electropolish systems, represent the largest electro polish systems available. They are best suited for large-scale production, or when the application involves large-sized parts. Each large-scale electropolishing system is custom-designed to fit the application and to best meet production needs. Some large-scale electropolishing systems use an overhead hoist or jib crane to transfer parts from one process step to the next.
Dry Electropolishing Machines
Dry electropolishing machines deliver a bright, shiny finish on delicate metal parts, without the regulatory hassle involved with handling liquid electrolyte. Unlike traditional electropolishing, dry electropolishing uses porous, sponge-like, solid electrolyte beads to remove peaks of roughness from a metal surface. Dry electropolishing machines are particularly well-suited for parts with highly-detailed areas or that require sharp details and edges. Applications that require a specific surface roughness value (RA, or roughness average) over an organic shape, like medical implants, work especially well with dry electropolishers.
Please click on any of the above pictures to view more details of our electropolish equipment and electro polish machines.
Common Applications and Specifications for Electropolishing Equipment
The most commonly used industry standard for traditional electropolishing is ASTM B912, Passivation of Stainless Steels Using Electropolishing.
Applications using electropolishing equipment include the following:
- Medical device stent polishing and deburring of stainless steel and cobalt chrome
- Industrial stainless steel 300 series polishing to reduce surface roughness and burr removal
- Reducing friction and ensuring top performance on flight-critical aerospace parts
- Reducing friction, boosting performance and extending life on automotive and racing industry parts
Applicable Electropolish Process Case Studies
- Electropolishing Wet Bench with Nitric Acid Neutralization / Passivation
- Electropolish EP System – Open Top Wet Bench with Retractable Spray Rinse
Electropolishing Equipment & Process FAQs
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What is electropolishing?
Electropolishing is an electrochemical process that removes material from a metallic part, typically stainless steel or similar alloys. The part is immersed in a temperature controlled bath of electrolyte (typically mixtures of sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid). The part serves as the anode as it is connected to the positive terminal of a DC power rectifier. The negative terminal of the rectifier is attached to the cathode which is typically made from titanium or other alloys which do not dissolve during the electropolishing process.
Visit What is electropolishing? How does electropolishing work? for more detailed information on electropolishing.
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What’s the difference in passivation and electropolishing?
As a non-electrolytic process, passivation uses solutions like citric and nitric acids instead of an electrical current used in electropolishing to create a inert oxide layer / film and remove free iron and foreign matter from metal surfaces.
Electropolishing, a non-mechanical interactive process, can be used on objects with complex geometries. The electropolishing process uses a combination of electrolytic chemicals and an electrical current to carefully eliminate imperfections and contaminants of metal part surfaces. This particular process is an alternative to abrasive fine polishing.
Electropolishing can be used to polish, deburr, and smooth metal components whereby doing so also causes material removal to occur including the free irons on the surface of the part. Electropolishing would be the more appropriate approach when aesthetics are necessary. A smoother, polished surface can result from electropolishing.
Passivation, on the other hand, does not change or brighten the surface appearance, and is not an effective method for improving surfaces that have been welded with oxide heat effect scale or heat treated.
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How many amps of current will it take to electropolish a part?
The current or amps required to electropolish a part is primarily based on the surface area of the part or total surface area if multiple parts are desired to be electropolished at the same time. More information on electropolishing can be found on What is electropolishing? How does electropolishing work? page
Visit the Electropolishing Current Required Calculation Spreadsheet to calculate the approximate current amperage required for electropolishing
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How long will it take to electropolish a part?
The cycle time required to electropolish a part is primarily based on the current / amps and surface area of the part or total surface area and rectifer current if multiple parts are desired to be electropolished at the same time.
Visit the Electropolishing Current Required Calculation Spreadsheet to calculate the approximate cycle time required for a part or total parts for electropolishing.
What is electropolishing? How does electropolishing work? contains more in depth information on electropolishing.
Test Your Parts for Free
From initial contact to our continued support and service, Best Technology offers over 30 years of industry expertise that can be leveraged to determine the best solution for your electropolishing system applications.
Contact an electropolishing expert to learn how you can receive a test sample of your stainless-steel parts electropolished for free. See the quality difference, and learn how you can bring electro polish operations in-house at your company. Contact us today!