Electropolishing Nitinol at Room Temperature vs Low Temperatures

When it comes to electropolishing Nitinol, it’s important to know how to electropolish Nitinol at room temperature compared to electropolishing Nitinol at very low temperatures. Here are some things to keep in mind when electropolishing Nitinol at different temperatures.

Setup

Setup for electropolishing Nitinol at room temperature compared to low temperatures is quite similar. You can use the same power supply for both cases, but in general the power supply needs to be capable of of high voltages and low to intermediate currents. We have found a unit that is capable of 60 volts and up to five amps is sufficient for Nitinol, even though we typically only go up to 40 volts. However, tt is good to have that extra voltage of 60 volts.

Maintaining Temperature

Obviously temperature is the major difference in this case. Therefore it’s important to note the process on how and what you do you do to maintain the electropolishing temperature. You must maintain the low temperatures to be able to produce some parts. These temperatures include down to a range of minus 40 to minus 50 degrees Centigrade.

For room temperature electropolishing, the temperature can be anywhere from typical “room temperature” to 20 degrees Centigrade. Some users prefer to use it at slightly lower temperatures. The lower temperatures are typically around 10 degrees Centigrade. It is important to keep in mind and needs to be understood that as with standard electropolish, the solution will heat while processing part. This is due to the high resistance of the medium. In order to control the steady conditions for electropolishing, you need to maintain room temperature or sub-room temperature. You do need some chilling, so it is in some ways similar to low temperature electropolishing. However, maintaining temperatures at room temperature or near room temperature is much easier than than having to heat or cool to low temperatures.