ELECTROPOLISHING OF
ALUMINUM & STAINLESS
STEEL
CALL US AT 631-236-9691
or 410-236-9826
Electropolishing is a method of
polishing various metals such as stainless steel, aluminum, steel, and copper
by an
electrochemical process that selectively removes high points
on the metal surface to give it smoothness and luster.
Here at Plating Sales, we have kits that can be used to
polish stainless steel and aluminum. Our electropolishing systems
smoothens, polishes, deburrs, and cleans stainless and/or aluminum. You simply submerse a clean part into one of our
electropolishing chemicals, turn on the current via a power
 supply,
and a few minutes, you'll will have a nicely polished part. The electropolishing tank is set
up the same way as a plating tank. When you buy a kit
from us, you'll have everything you will need for this
process, other than a rinsing vessel and a power supply/or battery
charger.
Electropolishing does have its limitation. You cannot put a part in the solution that is
rusty and pitted then expect it to come out mirror-like. The part has to be in
reasonably good shape or has to be sanded smooth. The parts have to be rust-free and
dirt-free. Purer grades of stainless steel
(300 series) will polish out to a mirror-like finish
while other grades will still get good results. Aluminum shows good results but
1000, 5000, and 6000 series aluminum alloys seem
to come out the best. Aluminum
electropolish will work best on machined and billet aluminum. Cast
aluminum electropolishing will depend on the porosity of the aluminum casting. Below are 24 of about
1000 identical machined aluminum parts (6061) that were electropolished with our
solution.
SEE AN EXAMPLE OF
ELECTROPOLISH PRO LINE
Electropolishing as a business
opportunity is very good, in this writer's opinion. It is easy to learn.
The learning curve is only about one to two weeks. The market for it is very
good, especially for stainless steel. There is a whole lot of work to be procured in
the medical as well as the food industry. Medical equipment are made of mostly
stainless steel and are very expensive. To save money, clinics and hospitals would
rather refurbish their stainless steel equipment rather than buy new ones. The
electrical polishing procedure will actually sharpen surgical tools as it polishes
it.....neat, huh? As for the food industry, the FDA requires that ALL metallic
equipment that
 comes
into contact with food be stainless steel. And by law, these items has to
be electrically polished periodically. Pick up your local phone book and
you'll only find little if any companies that do electrical polishing locally.
So chances are, these local medical clinics and restaurants are sending their
stuff out of town or even out of state. So being the local guy that offers
this same service, chances are you'll get their business. The process is
quick so you can get quite a few loads in and out each hour.
For example, a twenty gallon line
will make easily make $150 an hour and has the ability to make more than that an hour with
just one operator. With electropolishing professionally, you will need very little equipment
compared to other plating process and EPA regulations are very light on this process.
MACHINE SHOPS:
Setting up a Pro Studio or commercial electro polish line can help any machine
shop that fabricates aluminum or stainless steel control their own quality and
lead time. It will also help the shop save a fair amount of cost in the
long run. Outsourcing your electropolish work involves paying someone else
$75-$100 per hour as well as shipping cost. You can do this yourself for
pennies on the dollar and control how much care and quality you require in your
final product.
Pictured above is
a custom Electropolish Pro Studio Kit as it would appear once it has been
installed. These kits can be made almost fully commercial with just a few
upgrades such as a commercial plating heater upgrade and
a blower upgrade. These small to medium sized lines take up very little
room and can produce 100's of thousands of dollars cost of parts annually.
2.3
GAL TANK KIT (9x9x7 tanks) w/ 2 gal electropolish solution for stainless steel, anodes, tank, cleaner, and
heater......$335.00 Add $100 for kit to do SS and aluminum
5
GAL TANK KIT w/ (9.5x9.5x14 tank)
4 gal electropolishing solution for stainless steel, anodes, tank, cleaner, and
heater......$459.00 Add $140 for kit to do SS and aluminum
6
GAL TANK KIT w/ (11x19 cylinder
tank)5 gal electropolish solution for stainless
steel, anodes, tank, cleaner, and heater......$505.00 Add $160 for kit to do SS and aluminum
10
GAL TANK KIT w/ (15.5x12x12.5 tank)8 gal electropolish solution for stainless steel, anodes, tank, cleaner, and
heater......$759.00 Add $200 for kit to do SS and aluminum
15
GAL TANK KIT w/ (15.5x 12x 18.25 tank)
12 gal electropolish solution for stainless steel, anodes, tank, cleaner, and
heater......$999.00 Add $280 for kit to do SS and aluminum
22
GAL ELECTROPOLISH PRO STUDIO KIT w/ (24x12x18 tank) 18 gal
electropolishing solution for stainless steel, anodes,
tank, cleaner, and heater......$1599.00
Add $350 for kit to do SS and aluminum
Add $400 for commercial heater and temperature controller
25
GAL ELECTROPOLISH PRO STUDIO KIT w/ (18x18x18)
(23x15x18 tank) 22 gal
electropolishing solution for stainless steel, anodes,
tank, cleaner, and heater......$1899.00
Add $400 for kit to do SS and aluminum
Add $400 for commercial heater and temperature controller
30
GAL ELECTROPOLISH PRO STUDIO KIT w/ (24x12x24 tank) 26 gal
electropolishing solution for stainless steel, anodes,
tank, cleaner, and heater......$2099.00
Add $450 for kit to do SS and aluminum
Add $500 for commercial heater and temperature controller
45
GAL ELECTROPOLISH PRO STUDIO KIT w/ (24x18x24 tank) 40 gal
electropolishing solution for stainless steel, anodes,
tank, cleaner, and heater......$2499.00
Add $500 for kit to do SS and aluminum
Add $500 for commercial titanium heater and temperature controller
61
GAL ELECTROPOLISH PRO STUDIO KIT w/
(24x24x24 or 24x18x30 tanks) 54 gal
electropolishing solution for stainless steel, anodes,
tank, cleaner, and heater......$2999.00
Add $600 for kit to do SS and aluminum
Add $600 for commercial heater and temperature controller
69
GAL ELECTROPOLISH PRO STUDIO KIT w/
(24x18x36 tanks) 60 gal
electropolishing solution for stainless steel, anodes,
tank, cleaner, and heater......$3399.00
Add $650 for kit to do SS and aluminum
Add $600 for commercial heater and temperature controller
SEE
OTHER LARGE PRO STUDIO KITS
SEE AN EXAMPLE OF
ELECTROPOLISH PRO LINE
SEE BLACK OXIDE &
ZINC PHOSPHATE COATING KITS
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