With RathGibson’s newly installed 12-head mechanical polisher, the company now offers ultra-fine OD finishes for their finest precision engineered welded, welded and drawn, and seamless tubing. Polished tubing from RathGibson may be used in the food, dairy, beverage, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, chemical, petrochemical, power generation, and solar industries. In addition to the 12-head mechanical polisher, RathGibson’s Janesville facility also employs an 8-head mechanical polisher. Before a RathGibson tube enters a mechanical polisher, the ends are plugged to protect the tubing interior. As the tube travels through the polisher, it is covered with lubricant and abrasively polished at each head. After exiting the polisher, tubing is rinsed and air blows off any residuals before visual inspection, vinyl capping of the ends, line marking for complete traceability, and heat sealing in a poly-sleeve. While the 8-head mechanical polisher produces a 30 μ-in Ra (0.8 μm) OD maximum Ra surface roughness, the new 12-head mechanical polisher achieves less than 10 μ-in Ra (0.25 μm) OD Ra surface roughness. RathGibson’s proprietary electropolishing process attains 10 μ-in Ra (0.25 μm) ID maximum and 15 μ-in Ra (0.4 μm) ID maximum finishes. After the tube’s interior is electropolished, it is nitrogen purged, end capped, and bagged in a 6-mil poly sleeve.
