Electropolishing Equipment and Machines for Medical, Aerospace, and Industrial Manufacturing
Electropolishing equipment produces a bright, corrosion-resistant, highly polished surface on stainless steel and other metals used in regulated manufacturing environments. Quality electropolishing machines ensure repeatable, micro-tolerance surface roughness finishing that can be easily validated to regulatory and industry requirements.
Industries Served
Why Electropolishing?
Electropolishing plays a critical role in achieving the ultra-clean, high-performance surfaces required across regulated manufacturing environments. By removing microscopic peaks and creating a uniform, contamination-free finish, electropolishing helps engineers improve reliability, extend component life, and meet stringent industry standards. Whether the goal is to enhance corrosion resistance, reduce friction, or achieve consistent surface roughness on complex geometries, electropolishing delivers a level of precision that cannot be matched by mechanical methods. This controlled, repeatable electropolishing process is essential for manufacturers who need validated, high-quality results across every production run.
Electropolishing vs. Mechanical Polishing
Unlike mechanical polishing, electropolishing improves surface finish by removing microscopic peaks at the metal surface rather than smearing or deforming material. This results in more consistent surface roughness, improved corrosion resistance, and easier validation for regulated applications.
Electropolishing Equipment for Every Application and Part Size
Best Technology offers the industry’s leading precision and industrial electropolish equipment. 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.
Selecting the right electropolishing equipment depends on part geometry, production volume, material type, and regulatory requirements.
Types of electropolishing systems include:
Electropolishing Equipment Types
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.
Electropolishing wet benches are especially valuable for facilities that require repeatable, high-quality surface finishing without dedicating excessive floor space. By centralizing the process, operators can streamline workflow and reduce setup time, while ensuring that electropolishing results remain consistent across every batch. This integration of functions not only simplifies maintenance but also enhances safety by containing all chemical and electrical elements within a single, purpose-built electropolishing system.
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.
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 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 between passivation vs. 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 rectifier 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.
Excellence in Electropolishing Equipment
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 equipment 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.
When you’re looking for quality electropolishing equipment for sale, look to the experts at Best Technology.
612.392.2414
