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Why Electropolishing?

Electropolishing is an electrochemical process that provides metal surfaces with a microscopic featureless surface. No other metal surface finishing technique is capable of providing such a surface, which makes electropolishing unique and very important in industries that require ultra-clean, ultra-smooth surfaces. Industries such as petrochemical, pharmaceutical, nuclear, semi-conductor, food processing, and medical implants are customary industries that benefit from the electropolish procedure.

Electropolishing is most commonly used in applications requiring the finest surface finish to reduce particle retention, product adhesion, bacterial entrapment, corrosion, and radioactive contamination retention. This process is typically performed by submerging the part in an acid bath and contacting a direct electrical current. Electropolishing is similar to plating except that in plating the part attracts metal particles, while in electropolishing the part repels them.  This allows the surface to dissolve metal ion by ion. The microscopic peaks on metals have a greater electrical potential to dissolve at a faster rate than the lower areas. The end result is a surface where all burrs, tears, grain boundaries, and irregularities have been reduced to a uniformly smooth featureless surface.

Performed in process tanks whenever possible, electropolishing can also be performed on large process vessels (new and used), field equipment, tubing, pipe, sheet material, and rolled or coiled material using portable hand-held electropolish equipment. The electropolish system, including process tanks, can also be transported to perform this procedure in the field.

Electropolishing is often applied to material following some mechanical preparation if a specific surface finish is required. Mechanical preparation usually involves sanding using conventional abrasives to remove mill finishes from materials prior to electropolishing. The electropolished surface performs extremely well as compared to the original material when exposed to corrosive conditions, as corrosion sites have been dramatically reduced.

Most commonly performed on 300 series stainless steel, electropolishing can also be performed on other nickel alloys, carbon steel, aluminum, copper, brass, tool steels, among others.

Studies show that electropolish applied to contact surfaces can reduce the risk of contamination among food or other sterile products from pathogens and airborne contaminants. Contaminants simply cannot adhere to the microscopically smooth surface. Choosing to add electropolishing to your Sani-Weld conveyors and other products can reduce the risk of:

  • bacterial entrapment

  • equipment corrosion

  • particle retention

  • product adhesion

  • radioactive contamination retention

 

We offer the following types of custom electropolishing:

We can electropolish: