While you are necessary for metal prototypes or parts with level mechanical belongings and specialized aesthetic design, anodizing aluminum is excellent control. The anodizing procedure forms a coating of oxide on a metal part, successfully increasing corrosion resistance, and it can also enhance optical qualities and keep the exterior from scratch.
Anodizing aluminum is an abundant resistance post-processing procedure. Not only does it increase the resources and appearance of a part, but it also enables better sticking for paint primers and glues. This art utilizes anodic films which supply personal aesthetic effects, such as transparent layers that reflect light or thick coatings that can absorb dies.
Despite the difference in the mechanical capabilities of metal parts, anodizing aluminum will not take aside from the material’s natural appearance. The anodizing procedure can also be applied to other metals -such as titanium, zinc, and magnesium- the most widely used aluminum.
While a part of 3ERP’S large scale is present for boost surface finishes, you can use your anodizing aluminum service to increase the functionality and observe your metal parts and prototypes. To help you make the proper post-processing selection, here’s what you require to know about anodizing aluminum.
How to Process for Anodizing Aluminum Works
For properly anodize aluminum parts, the exterior should be cleaned and rinsed before getting placed into a bath of an electrolytic mixture, essentially either sulfuric or chromic acid. It provides an electrically conductive layer that contains a figure of positive and negative ions.
How does this procedure work? Sometimes the anodizing act is underway, a favorable electric cost is sent through the aluminum, and a negative fee is applied to plates in the electrolyte. Principally, the electric current forces the beneficial ions to attract the negatively charged plates when the negative ions are connected to the aluminum part, which is the positive anode.
Here, the electrochemical reaction forces the pore to open on the aluminum plane so that the positive ions escape. In a uniformly geometric design, these pores work down into the substrate of the part. The mixture of the aluminum surface and negatively charged ions generate barrier coating, which is studied in the anodizing aluminum act as the surface layer that makes parts opposed to corrosion.
There are currently four different variations of the anodizing aluminum process, each of which offers distinct advantages over the others：
Anodized Type I:
This is the most basic type, using chromic acid to produce a thin and pliable anodized layer on an aluminum part.
Anodized Type II:
Instead of using chromic acid, Type II utilizes sulfuric acid to produce a thicker anodized layer on a part, making it more suitable for coloration.
Anodized Type III:
Uniformly, the Type II, the procedure utilizes sulfuric acid, but it produces a thicker anodized layer that is also acceptable for coloration. It’s also frequently known as “hard anodizing”.
Chemical Film / Aldine:
This procedure required coating the part with Aldine to make results that are like anodization. When manufacturers widely used chromic acid when the anodizing aluminum procedure was developed in the early 1900s, usually parts are now anodized with sulfuric acid (Type II and Type III).
Anodizing aluminum parts also introduce an assembling option when adding color. The coloration procedure works by injecting a pigment into the clear holes of the region. At one point, the cultured pigment reaches the side, and it’s sealed off to protect the selected color. It creates an optical result that won’t disappear and can’t be scratched off, possessing the appearance of your parts in premier shape.
Benefits of Anodizing Aluminum Parts
You might not realize it, but you probably interact with products and parts that have been anodized daily. The anodizing aluminum process is commonly used for a wide range of applications, producing pieces you’ll regularly find in aircraft, consumer goods, sporting equipment and electronics, to name a few.
You can get resistance to many benefits when anodizing aluminum parts that are exceptionally durable and solid. For new starters, anodized aluminum parts are reliable and rugged. Its facility to develop resistance to abrasion and corrosion makes this tsk perfect for pieces that it will place within grating environments. It also offers considerable thermal insulation to metal parts.
Anodizing aluminum procedure will help metal parts last longer than raw parts. The layer is usually thinner than paints and powders, while stable supplies a more rigid surface.
Another benefit of anodizing aluminum parts is that it offers an environmentally friendly finish, making them easily recyclable. And, perhaps most importantly, the post-processing technique is affordable compared to painting and powder coating.
Should You Anodize Your Aluminum Parts?
Now that you know more about anodizing aluminum, you can decide whether this process suits your parts. This post-processing technique will satisfy your needs if you need functional aluminum parts that will face correction or wear, such as aircraft parts or consumer goods. There’s also a visual appeal to anodizing aluminum, mainly because you can add color to your interests while keeping the metallic sheen intact.
If you want to learn more about how this technique can help enhance your prototypes and parts, Contact Our Professional Machinists to Discuss your requirements.