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Corrosion and wear resistance

Electrolytic deburring does five jobs in one

15 Mar 2008

A new electrolytic process for deburring and polishing will make its debut at MACH 2008. Extrude Hone’s CoolPulse technology combines deburring, polishing, stress relieving, cleaning and passivation in one finishing process. Workpieces are not subjected to any mechanical or thermal stresses, and the technique is a highly efficient production process.

As the workpiece is completely immersed into the electrolyte bath, the overall workpiece is deburred and polished in one working step.
As the workpiece is completely immersed into the electrolyte bath, the overall workpiece is deburred and polished in one working step.

For the CoolPulse process the workpiece to be machined is immersed in an electrolyte solution and a voltage is applied. The proprietary electrolyte used in the CoolPulse process is a chilled, non-fuming, odorless and near neutral solution, rendering it very safe for handling and environmentally friendly. The solution possesses high electrical resistance, enabling high selectivity and high discrimination for the removal of burrs and peaks on surfaces.

As a rule, outside surfaces can be processed in the absence of complicated cathodes matching the workpiece. The liquid bath used in the CoolPulse process can treat many different types of metals with then only the electrical settings on the machine needing to be changed.

While CoolPulse is optimized for edge effect (deburring), substantial surface and cleanliness improvements are a natural by-product of the process. CoolPulse is capable of removing rough surfaces - Ra 2.5 to 5 mm - and producing ultra-smooth surfaces down to Ra 0.1 mm. In fact, it produces bright, or mirror like, finishes on stainless steel and bright to matte finishes on aluminum.

The CoolPulse process is also said to be significantly faster than typical electropolishing. Average cycle times range from 15 seconds up to 3 minutes; smaller components typically take 10 to 15 seconds.

CoolPulse is ideally suited for small- to medium-sized workpieces that may be inherently delicate or intricate by design. Typical fields of applications are medical components such as scissors, scalpels, stents or orthopedic implants and sophisticated parts for aerospace, semi-conductor and the automobile industry.

Images for this article - click to enlarge

As the workpiece is completely immersed into the electrolyte bath, the overall workpiece is deburred and polished in one working step.

All images copyright © Mercator Media 2008

Stevens Rowsell is a specialist precision sheet metal engineering company in East Sussex