Electropolishing & Deburring Case Studies

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Industrial

Challenge:

• Extension spring was failing and causing a constant maintenance problem

Solution:

• Part was electropolished and the results of the cycle life test increased well beyond current cycle levels and eliminated costly maintenance
• Customer added electropolishing to the extension spring specification

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Automotive

Challenge:

• Part was not meeting the intended fatigue life cycle under high and low psi

Solution:

• Customer chose to electropolish the wire form parts to hold high and low psi in all areas of compression in the engine without stressing
• The wire forms tested were successfully fatigue tested over 900,000 cycles

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Industrial

Total Material Removed: .0005”
(or half that amount per surface)

Challenge:

• Part had several burrs on edges
• Problem persisted after trying other methods of deburring

Solution:

• Part was electropolished with a minimum metal removal
• Burrs on part were removed

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Automotive

Challenge:

• Customer needed a bright decorative finish that would stand up to harsh environment
• Customer also needed to remove the copper coating

Solution:

• Able’s electropolishing proprietary technique stripped the copper coating, brightened the finish to near-chrome quality and gave the part an anti-corrosive finish

Alloy: Nickel

Industry: Electrical

Total Material Removed: .001”
(or half that amount per surface)

Challenge:

• Delicate ribs showed obvious contamination, burrs, and recast materials
• Mechanical cleaning had risk of warping or distortion

Solution:

• All critical surfaces were completely cleaned of surface and sub-surface contamination with electropolishing
• Removal of stress cracks improved product life

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Aerospace

Challenge:

• The ‘Hermetic Assembly’ part had green oxide layer from glass fusing, which needed to be removed

Solution:

• Electropolishing provided an oxide free, Brite Ultraclean surface
• Discoloration was removed & part passed stringent leakage testing

Alloy: Brass/Copper

Industry: Electronics/Communication

Challenge:

• Edges of fingers were causing problems in assembly of the finished product
• Could not vibra-finish the part due to the fragile nature of the fingers

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed the burrs and made the part’s surface smoother
• Achieved without incurring any damage to the fragile fingers

Alloy: Brass/Copper

Industry: Aerospace

Challenge:

• Engineers feared that contaminates could compromise the integrity of chemicals stored inside the container

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed the outer layer of metal & any contaminants from handling
• The process increased corrosion resistance & gave the part an extended life

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Other

Challenge:

• 'Stop Nuts' parts were highly discolored and heavily oxidized from heat treatment

Solution:

• We electropolished a small sample lot to clean and brighten the heavily discolored parts
• Customer avoided losing several thousand dollars of material

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Food/Beverage

Challenge:

• Weld discoloration
• Surfaces needed to be easily cleaned with minimal food adhesion

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed the weld discoloration and sub-surface contamination
• Improved corrosion resistance, achieving a smoother surface that is easier to clean

Alloy: Steel

Industry: Automotive

Total Material Removed: .0005"
(or half that amount per surface)

Challenge:

• Heat treating caused the internal gear teeth to grow

Solution:

• Electropolishing the steel removed varying amounts of surface material until achieving the ideal size
• Internal gear teeth were resized uniformly, ensuring that the part fit its mate

Alloy: Brass/Copper

Industry: Food/Beverage

Challenge:

• After machining, a burr was produced around the edge of the outlet hole
• Problem persisted after trying other methods of deburring

Solution:

• Part was electropolished with a minimum stock removal to clean up the orifice
• Part now has a controlled, constant stream

Alloy: Aluminum

Industry: Food/Beverage

Challenge:

• Part was leaking from seating problems when assembled with other components
• Customer machined problem areas but problem persisted

Solution:

• Electropolishing smoothed out the surface allowing a better fit, eliminating leaks & enhancing the part's “cleanability”

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Pharmaceutical

Challenge:

• Customer needed to ensure that all surfaces were clean and smooth, free of contaminants and crevices where bacteria could gain a foothold

Solution:

• The electropolished surface reduced surface irregularities by 50%, while removing contaminants embedded in the surface
• Part is now 30 times more corrosion resistant than ordinary passivation

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Electronics/Communication

Challenge:

• Part was comprised of dissimilar metals that are silver brazed
• Tumbling alone could not remove the excess silver braze from the part

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed the excess silver braze, while smoothing and cleaning the surfaces of all three dissimilar metals

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Medical/Dental

Challenge:

• The teeth of this stainless steel blade had large, hanging burrs
• Hand deburring was neither an economical nor a consistent solution

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed the burrs while retaining the sharp blade
• Ultraclean, exceptionally corrosion resistant surface across the entire part

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Medical/Dental

Total Material Removed: .0005"
(or half that amount per surface)

Challenge:

• This medical part needed to be free of contaminants and burrs to improve release characteristics
• Because the part has many small holes, hand deburring operations would be time-consuming and imperfect

Solution:

• Electropolishing the parts removed a uniform amount of surface metal and eliminated potential initiation sites for corrosion and burrs

Alloy: Stainless

Industry: Other

Challenge:

• Part is heat-treated and discoloration is produced on the surface
• The heat treat discoloration is an oxide and accelerates corrosion

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed a controlled amount of material
• Part left free of oxides, scale and discoloration

Alloy: Steel

Industry: Other

Challenge:

• Part was experiencing adhesion problems and flaking of plated material

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed the layer with embedded contaminants from normal fabrication and lubrication
• Surface of the wire was smoothed and cycle life of the part was improved

Alloy: Titanium

Industry: Medical/Dental

Total Material Removed: .0003"
(or half that amount per surface)

Challenge:

• From heat treatment, this titanium part had a film of gray, dusty scale
• Intricate machined features and small holes proved difficult to clean by other metal polishing techniques

Solution:

• Electropolishing removed a uniform amount of surface metal from the titanium part, achieving a bright and uniform finish free of tint and scale while maintaining tolerance

Alloy: Titanium

Industry: Medical/Dental

Total Material Removed: .0005"
(or half that amount per surface)

Challenge:

• Black, amorphous layer created by thread rolling on titanium parts
• Premature corrosion due to embedded contamination from tooling

Solution:

• Electropolishing provided a consistent finish acceptable for a part used in a medical or surgical setting and reduced the coefficient of friction, creating a better finish on the thread

Alloy: Steel

Industry: Automotive

Challenge:

• Valve Springs needed an extended life to last through high-speed racing

Solution:

• Customer chose to electropolish the parts, resulting in an extended life without stressing