Talk about great timing !! I was just getting ready to start looking to purchase a power supply to anodize some aluminum... Thanks for sharing !!

 

Guys - here is a site that has all the info on aluminum anodizing. They have videos and kits available
http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/anodizing-products/anodizing-kits.html

Bob

 

Neat! I did some small parts a while back using my bench-top supply (CC/CV) and RIT brand clothing dye. Worked pretty well. You can get the sulfuric acid from your local auto parts store.

 

Hi Robert,


If it’s any help this information has been taken from my working notes…

Clean at 140 deg.F

Etch – Caustic Soda 10 to 30 seconds

De-smut 1 to 3 minutes

Anodize at 68 to 73 deg.F at 3 to 12 Amps per sq. foot

Dye at 140 deg.F for 15 sec. to 15 min.

Seal at 180 deg.F in Nickel Acetate for 20 min.

Sulfuric acid 15% to 25% concentration.

Lead cathode 3 times surface area of product

Duration 12 Amp hours per sq. foot of product (max.)


Tweakie.


It goes without saying but please take due care with chemicals and fumes.

 

This may help some, from what I understand the acid is a dilution of battery acid (35%) with distilled water at a 50/50 ratio, amps is based on the 720 anodizing rule that goes by surface area to be anodized. Here is a calculator for figuring amps...

http://ndhsubmersiblescience.com/ano/720rule.html

Here is a video of a fellow anodizing his knife scales, pretty informative and his scales come out awesome...

 

Very nice !! Looks great !!

 

Looks great indeed

 

very cool ! well done!

 

Amazon does similar things. If you want something and can wait for it, put it in your cart. Sometimes there is an offer for just what you were looking for in your email after some time. I have gotten into the habit of adding lots of stuff to my cart in case they are motivated to convert me into a sale. Smart retailers know the cost of conversion and know that in your case, losing 10% is much cheaper then advertising for another customer. You are well into their conversion funnel. Wonder when they will send you a 15% off coupon.

 

Did not know that about the titanium, every video I watched they used aluminum plates. Titanium was using in the anodizing process for titanium though. Great info Robert !!

Thanks !

 

I'm not sure as i'd go as far as say they failed, a few of these fellows have been anodizing for quite some time doing thousands of parts. Take for instance JohnGrimsmo or TacticalKeychains, I don't really agree with the way they have their setups, but the results speak for themselves. Maybe using titanium is a better way or lasts longer, it definitely is more expensive. More than one way to skin a cat...

 

Dye sure comes out nice... Good deep color !!

 

Are you rinsing with distilled water and using something for degreasing/desmut??

 

I used to carry truck loads of aluminum parts to our coating vendor to be anodized. Tens of thousands of parts over the years all done with aluminum, not an inch of titanium in the building. Parts were beautiful and exceeded mil spec requirements for our customer.

Might have some advantages for the home shop anodizing process but it is certainly not necessary.

 

Great, thanks Robert !

 

Cool and noted ... I've seen some sites (there is a R/C parts vendor for example) throw a popup offering a discount if you just sit a few minutes on a product page. All good things come to those who wait, so the saying goes.

 

Where do I find the actual build? All I get is links that say "read more about this build", but nothing with any description, just the 4 photos