Welcome to NW Superfinish! We are your nationwide source for the REM® Isotropic Superfinish process. We are located in Portland, Oregon and specialize in the high performance automotive, marine and off road racing applications for the REM® ISF® process. If it goes on the dirt, mud, sand pavement or water and you want it to go faster and last longer, you have come to the right place.
What is REM® Isotropic Superfinish and why would I want it?
When you look at metal under a microscope it has peaks and valleys from the manufacturing and/or tooling process. When you have things like gears that interact with each other (metal to metal), those peaks and valleys create friction, which in turn generates heat. In a race car application, you want to have the smoothest surface possible for metal to metal contact to reduce the friction and heat which will allow you to effectively use more of your horsepower and make your parts last longer through reduced temperature.
Will this hurt my part or change its size?
The “cutting” process removes a minimal amount of material from your part, but leaves you with a part that is "isotropic", or uniform in all directions. This process has been tested and certified in many industries and is currenlty in use in military applications and has been approved by the Federal Avaiation Administration (FAA)for use.
How does it work?
The REM® (ISF) Process is a chemical and physical process that knocks the peaks down flat by cutting and removing a very very small (3/10000 of an inch) amount of material from your part. This is different that grinding or buffing as it “folds over” the peak and actually makes it worse. Once the peaks have been cut down, you are left with a flat consistent piece of metal that will operate more efficiently as it interacts with other metal. Ideally we do parts like transmission gears and ring and pinion gears to reduce drag and more effectively use the horsepower you already have. The process is a 2 stage process that finishes with a “burnish” that makes the part come out looking shiny, almost as if it was chromed.
What parts should I do?
For performance related parts we recommend anything that has metal to metal contact. Transmission gears, ring and pinion gears, camshafts, oil pump gears, fuel pump gears, hubs to name a few.
For cosmetics, you would want to do any part that you would consider chroming. The problem with chrome is that it is a horrible process environmentally and chroming actually makes the part more brittle and weaker and will ultimately flake over time, requiring you to re-chrome that part. The REM process, will leave you with a part that first gets cleaned up and more precise, and then will have the look of chrome without the negatives associated with the chrome process.
We are currently testing ball bearing style hubs, races and cages and will have video up shortly to show the effects.
Why the ISF Process is important to any application:- Less inertia = Less friction = Less fuel consumed
- Reduction of friction of metal to metal contact parts = Less wear and contact fatigue.
- Lower operating temperatures = Increased power output and efficiency
- Increased power density = options of larger engines or smaller transmissions
- Increased durability = Lower replacement costs and fewer failures
Additional Benefits:
- Improved bending fatigue resistance
- Reduced lubrication maintenance
- Quieter operation
- Reduces rotational torque
- No metallurgical degradation
- No geometrical degradation