Characterization of dryelectrolyte polishing process
GPAINNOVA is reinventing the way manufacturing teams are able to produce
high quality metal surfacing. The DLyte series machines are based on patented
Drylyte technology: the first dry electropolishing process that provides asolution for surface finishing of metal alloys for the industry. The applications
range from grinding, rounding and deburring to surface smoothing and highfloss polishing of aesthetic parts. Sensofar’s S neox Five Axis allows us to obtainhighest-quality results in our current surface finishing solutions.
At GPAINNOVA, the Sensofar S neox Five Axis is used specially to quantify thequality of the polishing process and to report the roughness reduction in
the samples after polishing with DLyte. Samples may vary from very roughadditive manufacturing parts to mirror-like surfaces, all of them measurablewith the Sensofar system thanks to its versatility of technologies, including
Focus Variation, Confocal and Interferometry techniques.
Below is a small example of what DLyte is capable of. A femoral component
made of CoCr before and after DLyte polishing can be seen.
Before having the Sensofar system, a contact stylus profilometer was used,obtaining only profile parameters (Ra, Rz, Rq, etc). Despite the fact that Ra isthe most used parameter, it does not provide any information on the spatial
CASE STUDY CHARACTERIZATION OF DRY ELECTROLYTE POLISHING PROCESSGPAINNOVA is a technology
company established in 2013 inBarcelona, with subsidiaries inMiami (USA), Hong Kong andShenzhen (Mainland China) andspecializing in surface metal
finishing machinery, medical
devices, Unmanned Surface
Vehicles and high performance
power electronics. The company
has been selected by Financial
Times among the 1,000 Europe’s
Fastest Growing Companies in2020 and 2021.
The study was carried out by
Yaiza Gomez, David Gutierrez,
Laura Abellan and PaulBerenguer (from left to right).

1

structure of the surface. Nonetheless, from now on, and thanks to Sensofar
metrology, the surface parameters such as Sa —which is the extension of Ra toa surface— can be measured. Sa takes into account the surface of the sample
to measure its roughness, allowing for a better characterization of the surfaces
than Ra. The main advantage of measuring an area is the possibility to scan alarger area and to generate a surface of several millimeters in size as a betteroverview of the sample and thus get more reliable values. The 3D areal surface
parameters are calculated following the ISO 25178 standard —considered as
first and foremost the redefinition of the foundations of surface texture— andcomprise the following parameters: Sa, Sq, Ssk, Sku, Sp, Sv and Sz.

2CASE STUDY CHARACTERIZATION OF DRY ELECTROLYTE POLISHING PROCESS■ Measurements

The above measurements were obtained with a 50x DI objective lens usingthe Interferometry technique, that allows us to measure mirror-like surfaces
like the previously-shown femoral component sample.
S neox Five Axis will allow us not only to characterize the reduction in surface
roughness after the polishing process, but also to demonstrate the preservationof the tolerances in polished parts, thanks to Drylyte technology. Below there
is an example of a shape and form measurement in a processed part, using inthis case Focus Variation technology.

CASE STUDY CHARACTERIZATION OF DRY ELECTROLYTE POLISHING PROCESS3

■ Conclusions
As can be seen, due to the B/W images and the colormap images taken withInterferometry, a decrease of the surface roughness of the sample is shown after
the Dlyte process, quantified by an Sa parameter below 0.05 µm. Moreover, thepreservation of the form is demonstrated by complemetary form measurements
using Ai Focus Variation technique. S neox Five Axis is a versatile metrology tool that
perfectly suits our measurement needs and will be from now on a helpful tool in
Dlyte’s lab.

■ References
www.gpainnova.com
www.dlyte.es
www.muruagold.com
www.respiradevice.com

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CASE STUDY CHARACTERIZATION OF DRY ELECTROLYTE POLISHING PROCESSCASE STUDY CHARACTERIZATION OF DRY ELECTROLYTE POLISHING PROCESS5SENSOFAR is a leading-edge technology
company that has the highest quality standards
within the field of surface metrology
Sensofar Metrology provides high-accuracy optical profilers
based on confocal, interferometry and focus variation
techniques, from standard setups for R&D and quality
inspection laboratories to complete non-contact metrology
solutions for in-line production processes. The Sensofar Grouphas its headquarters in Barcelona, known as a technology andinnovation hub in Europe. The Group is represented in over 30
countries through a global network of partners and has its own
offices in Asia, Germany and the United States.
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