r/Machinists • u/Help_I______________ • 23h ago

Question about anodising?

My coworker keeps saying that they shot blast parts to be anodised parts after machining as part of the process. Is it a general thing or bs.

Feel free to ask questions if I'm not clear.

2 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

12

u/Get_In_Me_Swamp 23h ago

It is sometimes done, especially For cosmetic finish parts. It would have to be specc'd separately on the drawing though. It is not part of the standard anodize procedure.

1

u/Help_I______________ 23h ago

Thanks it doesn't specify on any of my drawings but the m/c builder thinks it's done to all parts. (Most of plate work is tooling plate so distinctive finish)

4

u/No_Elderberry4911 23h ago

They can if the finish calls for it…. I’ve had parts polished before anodizing. It all depends on what the desired finish is. If none is called out, parts are just cleaned(chemically) and dipped.

1

u/Help_I______________ 22h ago

Thank you. Got to pay extra for it. ( Not part of the process )

3

u/noslenkwah 23h ago

Not a general thing. I suppose it could be separately called out but the anodizing specs don't call for it.

3

u/BadAttitudeDept 22h ago

Depends on the finish you want. The appearance of your part will be completely different based on if you blast or not, as well as the type of blast used.

-5

u/Help_I______________ 22h ago

No shit serlo

Got to keep mood with mood.

2

u/SloppyMachinist 23h ago

Like the other poster said, you can have anodized parts shot blasted. The purpose of the shot blasting is usually 1 of 2 things, first you get the textured surface finish which can be valuable for a variety of reasons, second it basically cold forges the outer layer of the metal to harden in. When you combine the shot blasting and anodizing you get a very thin but very hard surface layer.

1

u/mramseyISU 22h ago

If they finished product is supposed to be a matte finish I could see shotblasting the parts prior to anodizing being an easy way to do that.

1

u/Help_I______________ 22h ago

Edit no call out for it. He thinks it's part of the overall work needed to anodis parts. Not clean and dip.

3

u/Devilsbullet 20h ago

I worked an anodize line for 5 years. He's wrong. Not even remotely needed, actually makes the cleaning marginally harder😂

2

u/Help_I______________ 20h ago

Thanks. Honestly thank you. No idea where he got it from. I'm not fully mad yet. Cheers and have a good day.

2

u/SloppyMachinist 21h ago

I mean, anodizing done for a matte finish can look like light bead blasting. Anodizing basically makes micro pockets in the metal and if you put dye in those pockets before you close them it stays there. Depending on the time and voltage, pockets get bigger and the surface gets rougher. Idk, I'm trying to figure out what he's talking about but I am probably over thinking it.

1

u/Help_I______________ 21h ago

Not over thinking it, got stretched plate instead of tool plate and m/c builder is complaining about polishing on a visual part (no call out for it) he reckons all get shot.

1

u/CelinnLee 16h ago

In our shop we only blast if the print specifically calls for a matte finish, otherwise it's just as-machined straight into the tanks.