A study on stainless steel mirror surface polishing by using the electrophoretic deposition method

Polishing wheels with homogeneously organized micro abrasive grains, uniformly dispersed by electrophoretic deposition (EPD), can be applied in mirror-like polishing process. This work studies the characteristics of EPD and mechanical polishing when SUS316LVV is polished. Abrasive grains with blunt edges are easily ablated from the polishing wheel by friction during polishing. The polishing wheel can be continuously refreshed by adding new abrasives. A superior surface polishing quality can thus be obtained. The control parameters of the EPD polishing process include the working voltage, the rate of rotation of the polishing wheel, the polishing feed rate, the polishing time, the axial loading and the pH value of the electrolyte, etc. Experimental results indicate not only that SiC particles of size 0.9–1.5 μm were used in EPD polishing, but also that the initial roughness of a machined surface could be improved from 0.5 μm Ra to 0.02 μm in 8 min, yielding a mirror-like surface.