NEPLOS treatment is a chemical polishing process
for stainless steel.

NEPLOS treatment is effective for deburring and surface gloss finishing in small uneven places and thin tubes found in medical injection needles, suture needles, and electronic parts such as hard disks, while electrolytic or mechanical polishing is not applicable.

The surface after NEPLOS treatment is stable and does not generate rust due to the passivation function. By controlling the processing time in seconds and minutes, the polishing amount can be controlled on the order of microns, and stable product quality can be obtained.

■NEPLOS treatment process can be divided into the following two treatments.

【A (Asid) processing】
Removes micron-order tool marks and minute burrs occurred by cutting and mechanical polishing process.

【B (Brightness) processing】
By extending the above A treatment, the flatness of the stainless steel surface is improved, and the glossy and fine surface is obtained.
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Basic Idea of NEPLOS Process

Basic Process

Compatibility of NEPLOS Polishers with Major Metals & Alloys

Pure titanium /
Titanium alloy

Examples of NEPLOS Process

Material：SUS304（Polishing）

Material：SUS304（Burn mark removal）

Material：Pure titanium（Burr removal）

Before Processing

After Processing

Q & A

Q.

 How long is the processing time of Neplos treatment ?

A.

Even if the same stainless steel is used, there are differences depending on the surface condition (quenching history, composition of the material itself, etc.). For example, it takes about 3 minutes for NEPLOS # 505 and about 2 minutes for # 507 to etch 20-30 microns of untreated SUS304.

Q.

 Is it possible to guarantee the same roughness as electrolytic polishing or buffing?

A.

Can not.
Chemical polishing cannot polish selectively like electrolytic and mechanical polishing. It can improve the surface roughness of metal around 30-50%, but it is greatly affected by the original roughness of the base material.

Q.

 Can any kinds of stainless steel be treated with NEPLOS?

A.

If glossy surface is required (B treatment), only austenitic stainless steel is available.
In the case of deburring and wall thinning (A treatment), it will be sometimes applicable to martensitic stainless steel and ferrite stainless steel. Also, metals other than stainless steel are possible. In detail, please contact us.

Q.

 Does Thai Sanmei sell solution? Or deal with chemical polishing?

A.

We sell NEPLOS solutions, but when we receive a processing request, we will introduce the customer who can perform this treatment.

Q.

 It costs a lot of investment to start ?

A.

Comparing with electropolishing and other mechanical polishing techniques, it does not cost very much because the required facilities are not large scale.
The ideal equipment to get started industrially is:

1. Wastewater treatment equipment (acid / alkali / coagulation sedimentation)
2. Exhaust gas equipment (acid gas)
3. Pretreatment tank (hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, solvent degreasing, etc.)
4. NEPLOS tank (titanium, enamel, glass, etc.)
5. Cleaning tank (DI water, hot water, ultrasonic tank, solvent, etc.)
6. Drying equipment (warm air dryer, air blow, vacuum dryer, etc.)

If in a small scale, you can get started with only tanks for NEPLOS and rinsing. For the initial small scale, our entrustment service can also be your choice.

Q.

 What does "NEPLOS" mean?

A.

The abbreviation “NEPLOS” was created from "Non Electrical Polish Lightner Of Stainless Steel" by Shinji Hayashi (died in 2003), the founder and first president of NEPLOS company.