Cnc Polishing

[wrustle]

(05-05-2013, 03:56 PM)TomG Wrote:

(05-05-2013, 03:21 PM)wrustle Wrote:

(05-05-2013, 09:47 AM)TomG Wrote: Russ,

You may want to look into bright dip anodizing. The parts would be chemically polished in a concentrated acid solution prior to anodizing and they would look very similar to your polished parts at much less cost.

Tom

Hi Tom,

I know what the bright dip process involves and I'm left asking myself if you realized I cannot have any of the tool marks left by the end mill on the pocket floor as shown in the beginning.

Whether bright dipping, or going with an extended etching, both are a uniform surface finish that will remove a very small amount of material before being built up again with the anodizing process.

The caveat however is that it will remove the same amount of material from both the peaks AND the valleys of the surface finish, so in effect you would end up with very shiny tool marks!

Best Regards,
Russ

Russ,

Then you may want to take it one step further and try electropolishing. It uses the acid etching process along with current. Since the current density is higher on peaks and edges, the process tends to level a surface. We has some machined stainless steel pins electropolished and they came back with a mirror finish that looked good even under the microscope.

Tom

Hi Tom,

I never have anything electropolished, but the one thing I do know about it is it is a very expensive process. These plates are a good sized item. I'd be curious to know what the cost involved would be.

The brushing in the machine takes approx. 60 seconds. I seriously doubt I'm going to get those electropolished for less than $2.00/ea.

The anodizing alone (my cost) is $4.30/ea. not including shipping back and forth.

Being that these will be a repeat blanket order production job throughout the year, I doubt my customer will justify the added cost for the better looking part.....I could be wrong, but I know them to well. May be worth having some place in this area give me a quote.

Thanks for the info!

Best Regards,
Russ