Jewelry, fashion and consumer goods industries require a perfect surface quality as the purpose of the piece is mainly aesthetic and the value of the piece depends on a good looking.
Most of the products we use daily both with very shiny surface, matt or painted has been processed to be smooth enough and aesthetically-pleasing products. Most of them requires additionally a surface easy to clean, water resistant, lightweight and affordable. And in case of accessories, watches and jewels in contact with the skin they should be hypoallergenic to avoid adverse reactions on the skin.
Together with abrasive polishing, buffing, painting and plating, electropolishing is one of the finishing techniques utilized on aesthetic parts. Those industries have evolved during the last years with new materials and processes to produce large quantities requiring homogeneity and standardization of batches and automation to finish the parts cost and time-effectively.
In addition, complex geometries in jewels and aesthetic metal parts are hard to polish with traditional automated polishing methods. Polishing each piece by hand not only involves a greater investment of time and resources, but can also have a negative impact on the health of the professional who carries it out.
DLyte offers novel surface finishing solutions based on dry electropolishing and passive layer electropolishing to overcome challenges of the production of aesthetic parts as standardization, quality and cost.
DLyte benefits of jewelry and fashion applications
Both for precious or non-precious metals our equipment automates the polishing process in delicate parts, providing a precise and high-quality finish in filigree and intricate designs at a much lower cost, while perfectly preserving the geometry.
Our range of solutions is completely scalable to various batch productions, from small workshops of jewellers and goldsmiths to large factories with mass production of accessories and consumer goods. DLyte machines are designed to reduce time and cost for everyone, providing constant repeatability for production.
DLyte is suitable to improve surfaces of non-precious metals such as stainless steel, titanium, brass, nickel silver and aluminium. Dry electropolishing is recommended for high-value, small, fragile and delicate parts, where a high-quality finish is required. Our metal surface treatment also prepares the surfaces for bathing or coating with other metals, for a more homogeneous finishing.
Some of the most important applications of our technology for jewellery are:
- Watches and high value jewels
- Pendants, bracelets, earrings and rings, including unique and customized units
- Piercings, including precious metal units
- Accessories made of hypoallergic and biocompatible alloys
- Fashion accessories as belt buckles, bag inserts, eyewear, luxury pens
- Cutlery, musical instruments, taps and handles
- Wearables
- Figurines and ornaments
The solution for precious metals
Murua has been especially developed for precious metals such as gold, silver and bronze, which need a more delicate process. It’s electro-finishing technology is considered a preferred method for polishing to high gloss silver for jewelry due to its precision, ability to improve surface roughness and brightness, passive layer protection, and efficiency. It is a fully automated system that provides a mirror-like finish in just one step.
The device facilitates the polishing of parts that cannot be accessed either manually or mechanically. It also does not round the edges and allows to recover up to 95% of the metal lost during the process, as it is deposited on the cathode. Murua technology is also suitable for components with minerals, such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, opals and amethysts, natural or synthetic, among others.
Murua’s benefits for precious metals.
- Completely automated smoothing and gloss finishing processes.
- An optimal performance is achieved, due to a high energy extraction process.
- It reaches every corner of the piece preserving the geometry, so it can process articulated pieces.
- Pieces can be processed without removing embedded gems, which will not be affected.
- The process achieves the highest polishing quality with minimal removal of material.
- Does not require any abrasive items, which prevents a constant expenditure on consumables.
- No environmentally harmful materials are used during the polishing process.
- Easy metal recovery via deposition on cathodes
Some applications
Eyewear surface finishing
Material: 316L, aluminum and titanium
Manufacturing: Milling, casting
Application: Mirror finish
Processing time: 34 minutes (48 parts)
DLyte equipment: DLyte PRO500
Stainless-steel buckles finishing
Material: Stainless Steel
Manufacturing: Metal injection molding (MIM).
Pre-processing: Ceramic polishing
Application: Mirror finishing
Processing time: 64 minutes (360 parts)
DLyte equipment: DLyte PRO500
Common materials
01.
Bronze
An alloy made of copper and tin with a warm golden color. Bronze is a great and popular option for beautiful and affordable jewelry, because of its unique combination of aesthetics, durability, malleability, and versatility. Bronze is truly easy to clean and can last for decades with appropriate care.
02.
Gold
Besides its aesthetic appeal, gold has other physical properties, such as corrosion resistance, lack of oxidation, hypoallergenic benefits, and malleability, that have captivated jewelry industries. Gold never tarnishes and has great workability. If handled properly, gold may last indefinitely.
03.
Nickel silver
Also known as German silver, this is a versatile material composed of an alloy that contains nickel, zinc and copper. Commonly used in consumer goods and fashion industries because of its unique combination of aesthetic appeal, durability, corrosion resistance, profitability and workability.
04.
Silver
Several factors, such as its unique combination of aesthetic appeal, durability, malleability, and hypoallergenic properties, make silver one of the most popular jewelry metals. It's also more plentiful and far less costly than gold or platinum. Silver is one of the best metals for conducting heat, which makes it more suitable than gold for certain uses.
05.
Stainless steel
An iron alloy with a minimum of 10.5 percent of chrome, which produces a passive layer that prevents corrosion. This versatile material is widely used in the industrial sector, due to its strength, biocompatibility, durability, aesthetic attractiveness, hypoallergenic properties, and profitability. It withstands high temperatures.
06.
Titanium
An appealing and popular material that can be alloyed with iron, aluminum and vanadium, among others, to produce strong and lightweight alloys. Its most useful advantages are corrosion resistance, strength-to-density ratio, biocompatibility, durability, and hypoallergenic and aesthetically attractive properties.
07.
Brass
One of the most popularly used metals for jewelry and fashion, due to its similarity to gold, affordability, corrosion resistance, machinability, workability and durability. Forged out of zinc and copper, this strong alloy is available in abundance. It looks like bronze, but has a more yellow tone.
Technical aspects
Defect-free surfaces and homogeneous finish
Improved passivation and corrosion resistance
Proven biocompatible process and cleanability
Assured reliability and repeatability
Preservation of geometry without rounding edges
Economic and environmental aspects
Short processing time in a compact design
No devices to manage sewage and sludge
High profitability and short payback time
Environmentally friendly
Protects workers' health
DLyte success cases in the jewelry and fashion industries
Stay up-to-date with the latest innovations in the world of metal surface finishing by subscribing to our newsletter.