The robotic serial polishing system shall have a mechanism to maximize polishing platen alignment (the platen vertical run-out shall be less than 10 micrometers). In addition, sample polishing conditions such as sample sweep, sample rotation, and platen rotation speed shall be controlled by the user, and the sample load shall be user-defined from 5 to 25 N. The system shall be capable of cleaning between polishing steps using an ultrasonic bath that contains either water or alcohol-based solutions. The system shall be capable of drying the sample using a compressed gas to eliminate spotting on the metallographic surface due to liquid evaporation.