Letter 1002

Electropolishing of s/s surgical instruments

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we process several thousand small s/s surgical instruments daily and have done so for several years. My customer now insists we maintain the same removal rate on each piece. I have explained to them that this is inherent in an electrochemical process due to current density differences in racking etc. They are under the impression that we should be able to control the removal rate so that all parts are exact without resorting to laboratory conditions. Could you provide any literature that may help explain this theory?

Thank you

Mark G
metal finishing - Middletown, CT

If your surgical components can be vibratory finished, then it has a proven track record on surgical instruments.The process can produce finishes down to 2-3µin and removes surface metal more evenly than does Electropolishing. The process also produces a very clean surface that in some cases, passivation is not required. If additional passivation is required, than a Nitric dip or very light Electropolishing is all that is required.

Bill Boatright

Bill is right, vibratory finish is the best solution. In my country they also use the same products for this application.

Sara Michaeli     chemical process supplier Israel