Innovation in the Mirror Polishing Process of Aluminum Alloy Boxes: Nanometer-level Precision Empowers High-end Manufacturing

Recently, a precision machining enterprise has developed an efficient mirror polishing process for aluminum alloy casings through technological innovation. This process integrates three steps of chemical pretreatment, mechanical grinding, and plasma enhancement, enabling the surface roughness to reach Ra0.02μm and achieving a mirror-level optical reflection effect. It has been applied to the manufacturing of key components in fields such as aerospace and semiconductors. According to the technical team, the traditional polishing process is prone to leaving spiral patterns and orange peel-like defects on the surface of aluminum alloys. The new process introduces the "gradient grinding" strategy: Firstly, alkaline etching is carried out in a constant temperature and humidity environment to eliminate the internal stress of the material. Subsequently, a diamond micro-powder suspension is used in conjunction with a vibration polishing device, and the grinding path is controlled by frequency conversion to avoid periodic patterns. Finally, low-temperature plasma is used to reconstruct the surface at the atomic level, forming a dense oxide protective layer. The person in charge of the project team emphasized that the key breakthrough of this process lies in balancing the material removal efficiency and surface quality. After testing, the glossiness of the treated casing surface exceeds 95%, the corrosion resistance is significantly improved, the yield rate is increased by 60% compared with the traditional process, and the single processing time is shortened by 40%. In practical applications, after the battery bracket of a new energy vehicle manufacturer is processed by this process, the reflectivity fluctuation during laser welding is controlled within 0.3%, effectively improving the stability of the production line. An optical instrument manufacturer has reported that using the treated casing as a base has significantly suppressed the interference of stray light, and the detection accuracy of the equipment has been improved by two orders of magnitude. The enterprise has made systematic technical reserves for this process and plans to launch customized solutions. Currently, it is developing an AI visual inspection system to monitor the nanoscale surface topography changes in real time during the polishing process. "In the future, we will promote the transformation of mirror polishing technology towards data-driven through the digitization of process parameters," the technical team said. This will help the high-end equipment manufacturing industry break through the technical bottleneck of precision machining. With the in-depth application of this process, China's independent manufacturing capacity of precision aluminum alloy components will be further strengthened, providing important support for the development of strategic fields such as semiconductor packaging and medical imaging equipment.