Dry electropolishing equipment for superior high-performance finishing applications in the toolmaking industry
The quality of milled, formed, and punched parts hinges on the tools used in manufacturing. Processes like surface smoothing, coating, polishing, burr removal, controlled rounding, radiusing, and corrosion protection significantly extend the lifespan of drills, milling cutters, thread rods, stamping tools, forming dies, and holders. This ensures a consistent and reliable quality of final parts, enhancing performance and longevity.
Due to the limitations of current automated polishing techniques, particularly on pieces with freeform surfaces and functionally critical edges, the processes of smoothing, rounding, radiusing, and deburring are primarily carried out manually or through intricate multi-step procedures. These methods tend to be error-prone and resource-intensive.
DLyte automates edge honing, polishing, smoothing, coating removal, and decoating, enhancing tool performance and lifespan while ensuring precision, mechanical integrity, surface uniformity, and wear reduction. This advanced solution replaces expensive diamond wheel and robotic systems, reducing roughness in flute areas and controlling cutting edge radius to deliver consistent and precise results in an ultra-fast process.
MATERIALS
Cemented Carbide/ hardmetal
High Speed Steel
Carbon Steel
01.
Finishing Processes
01.
Edge preparation, rounding and honing
A mirror finish is a highly-polished finish, characterized by a bright, shiny, reflective metal surface.
02.
Smoothing and polishing
It reduces the friction, allowing faster machining and chip removal and prepares the surface for coating process.
03.
Coating droplets removal
It removes coating droplets, recovering cutting tools affected during the coating process.
04.
Controlled cobalt binder leaching
It prepares surfaces for a subsequent coating thus increasing the adherence between coating and substrate.
05.
Decoating
It replaces chemical or abrasive methods for removing the coating from parts that need to be repaired and subsequently recoated.
02.
Applications
01.
Endmills, drillbits and thread-cutting taps
Fast and acurate edge preparation and smoothing of flutes.
02.
Cutting inserts
Performs high quality automated surface finishing of cutting inserts at scale.
03.
Insert dies
It replaces resource-intensive and sub-optimal quality of manual polishing.
04.
Forming tools
Smoothing the surfaces with geometry preservation and zero defects.
Benefits of DryLyte Technology in Toolmaking
Dry electropolishing technology is a novel electrochemical process specially recommended to improve life of cutting tools through rounding of cutting edges and improvement of flute surface. Since dry electropolishing is not a mechanical process, the material hardness has no bearing on the material removal rate. In addition, it is also suitable for annealed, hardened metal parts and other materials as carbides.
The DryLyte Technology used in the dry electropolishing machinery DLyte, is a patented surface finishing technology by ion transport using free solid bodies. In DryLyte the liquid acids are replaced with a set of tiny solid spheres of a non-conductive polymeric material capable of retaining liquid electrolyte and conducting electricity while removing the oxides produced during the electropolishing process.
It works by combining the electrical flow created by a high-precision rectifier with the movement of the pieces through the dry media. This results in an ion exchange and removal of material only from the peaks of roughness. The process performs controlled rounding and can access corners that are not easily accessed mechanically.
-
01. Improved passivation and corrosion resistance
02. Smoothing drill flutes increases work speed and lifespan
03. Improved chip removal increases tool productivity
04. Reduction of wear and increased contact area
05. Reduced friction and defined edge rounding for longer tool life
06. Reduced force and lubricant required for deformation
07. Preservation of geometry without rounding edges
08. Assured reliability and repeatability
09. Improved quality of forming, stamping and cutting tools
10. Prevents leaching of metallic binder to achieve a completely smooth surface -
01. Short processing time in a compact design
02. No devices to manage sewage and sludge
03. High profitability and short payback time
04. Environmentally friendly
05. Protects workers' health
Improve carbide surfaces with controlled leaching
Cemented carbide, the predominant material in the toolmaking industry, contributes significantly in enhancing precision and surface quality due to its superior hardness, durability, and wear resistance.
However, due to its composition of small tungsten carbide particles suspended in a metallic matrix, surface finish with state-of-the-art processes can be extremely difficult.
DLyte technology offers a plethora of advantages by maintaining the superficial chemistry unaltered, it ensures that the original properties of the material are preserved. Additionally, DryLyte Technology prevents any leaching effects on the metallic binder, which contributes to the overall stability and durability of the treated surface. The process achieves an impressive roughness between constitutive phases of below 9 nm, resulting in a smooth and consistent surface finish.
The system also allows for precise electrical parameter adjustments to achieve controlled leaching, resulting in improved surfaces for subsequent coating.
Edge preparation with controlled radius
INCREASE OF RADIUS AROUND 1 μm/min
The minimum and controlled rounding effects further enhance the final surface quality, ensuring uniformity and reduced wear. Moreover, the mechanical integrity of DLyte is an effective automated process to round cutting edges of end mills, carbide inserts and carbide reamers to specific radius according to the manufacturer requirements and improve at the same time the surface quality of the flute thus allowing a faster chip flow and increased chip volume.
The dry electropolishing technology improves the result of current technologies. It overcomes the barriers of abrasive polishing using solid particles to remove material by ion exchange, even in very hard materials as carbide. As it is a non-abrasive treatment it maintains a good balance between smoothness of the flute and edge radius increasing tool life and resulting in less tool wear.
Surface finishing equipments
100 PRO
This equipment provides a high-quality automated surface finishing treatment for endmills, cutting inserts and other cemented carbide tools demanding specific finishing requirements and high precision.
The advanced PLC based electronics precisely applies required parameters and movements to achieves targeted surface finishing.
DLyte 100PRO and DLyte 100PRO Carbide
6 endmills/cycle
12 inserts/cycle
PRO500
The most advanced, powerful, and versatile metal surface finishing equipment on the market specially designed for mass production.
This equipment delivers fully automated high-quality surface finishing for high-value, delicate, or complex work pieces with precise and targeted surface finishing requirements.
DLyte PRO500 and DLyte PRO500 Carbide
48 endmills/cycle
160 inserts/cycle
Customized support throughout all your product implementation process and lifecycle
01.
Test Lab
Our team develops the finishing process especially adapted to your piece and your application. We design the process you need based on a sample of your part and your technical request. Our expert advice and techniques are crucial to an optimal process.
02.
Training and consulting
Consultancy services in process development from concept to design, manufacturing, commissioning, installation and correct operation. If you do not have a standard solution already implemented, we would be more than happy to customize a solution to fit your needs.
03.
Customer service
Our qualified engineers will respond to all your questions in order to find the best solution for your needs. We advise and support installation, start-up, process set-up, programmed maintenance and instant troubleshooting so that you reduce downtime of your equipment.
04.
DLyte Hub and Store
DLyte Hub and Store are specifically designed for current customers and partners to find the complete range of updated products, activate electrolytes, download operating and maintenance manuals, data sheets and process parameters, and also to order products.
+
0
satisfied customers
worldwide
+
0
machines installed
and setup
and setup
+
0
distributors across
all continents
all continents
+
0
years of surface
finishing expertise
finishing expertise
Stay up-to-date with the latest innovations in the world of metal surface finishing by subscribing to our newsletter.