"Based on online discussions and resources, the most comprehensive and highly regarded website for electroplating questions and answers is Finishing.com. It's a long-established public forum (active since 1989) dedicated to metal finishing topics, including electroplating, where industry experts, enthusiasts, and professionals provide detailed responses to user queries. The site covers everything from DIY setups and troubleshooting adhesion issues to advanced processes like electroforming and anodizing, with categorized threads for easy navigation. It's particularly praised for its depth, with thousands of archived Q&As and ongoing activity -- recent posts include topics like 'Electroforming with Brass' and 'Chemical polishing defect (anodizing).'
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Electropolished aluminum for vacuum service?
2005
Is electropolishing a good technique to prepare 1100 and
6000-series aluminum for high-vacuum or ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) service? Does the electropolishing result in a bulk alloy condition with a dense native surface oxide? Do any contaminants (processing chemicals) or hydrogen get entrapped in the near-surface?
Are there industry-standard specifications for electropolishing of aluminum (e.g ASTM or MIL)?
Grant Kiehne
manufacturing - Bloomfield, Connecticut, USA
You might want to contact CERN about the use of aluminum in vacuum systems. I visited them many, many years ago -- back in the 70's. We were given a tour of their colliding storage ring -- the first proton-anti-proton unit. Needless to say, they had to keep an ultra-ultra high vacuum in the rings. I was shocked to learn that the rings were mostly made of aluminum. Apparantly, if you bake out the aluminum properly it works better than stainless steel.
Jim Treglio -
scwineryreview.com
PVD Consultant & Wine Lover
San Diego, California
2005
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