How important is part surface cleanliness to the process results?
Oils, grease, other contaminants on a part surface may affect the surface conductivity. Therefore it is recommended that parts be washed free of machining oil prior to ECD/ECM. However, this also depends on the fussiness of the part. Automotive parts processed through ECD have been successfully processed with water-soluble coolant on the parts with little negative impact. However, customers should not be advised to do this as the machine builder has no control over the amount of drag in of contamination nor can they know the long-range impact.
