The machine has been featured on ABC’s “The New Inventors”as a winner.
Fabricators traditionally applied pickling paste to the weld to restore the oxide film to the area. The oxide film on the metal bestows corrosion resistance.
However, the solution used is often a mixture of nitric and hydrofluoric acid, making it dangerous and toxic. It has been prohibited on many commercial sites, but is still used by fabricators who have so far lacked a viable labour-efficient alternative.
The mepBLITz is an industrial mobile electro-polishing machine which uses a food grade phosphoric acid with several sequestering agents to polish the welds.
It works at 2400W and has a cooling system, allowing it to be used straight onto hot welds. According to the company, it works quickly and is suited for TIG and MIG welds.
Electro-polishing is an electrochemical process which increases the density of chromium throughout the weld surface. The manufacturer claims this creates an oxide film without the etching effect of pickling paste.