Technical Information

We believe manufacturing is very important to our economy and the stability of our society. Manufacturing provides income to families, wealth to communities, and a sense of purpose to individuals. Manufacturing is an environment where individuals get to learn, create, and progress. That excites us. We are contributing to our community in a significant way by strengthening the manufacturing culture.

Sapphire Metal Finishing is a young company with big aspirations. We strive to help all of our customers succeed by providing them with finishes on their products that please their customers. We do this by supplying our customers with a consistent, high quality anodized finish on aluminum with some of the shortest lead times in the industry. We have invested, and continue to invest, in equipment, technology, knowledge and skills so that we can do this now and in the future.

We can serve you more effectively if we are able to have excellent intercompany communication. If we understand your needs and applications, we can help you get the finish you need. We have developed this document to contribute to the effectiveness of our intercompany communications.

Thank you!

We presently offer MIL-PRF-8625F (which replaced MIL-A-8625 in 2020) Type II, Type IIB and Type III sulfuric acid anodizing in clear, black, and multiple colors. I will use the dimension called a mil, which is 0.001 inch, when discussing film thickness and surface dimensional changes.

Type II
Type II is often called decorative. We target a thickness of 0.6 mils on all of our Type II films. This is somewhat thicker than most of our competitors offer, but through research we have learned that this thickness is more resistant to fading when dyed. It also gives a more durable finish than a thinner film would provide.

You should note that Type II clear has more of a satin appearance. Many people prefer it to the more silver finish that a thinner film provides. We have found that Type II clear on 2024 is less attractive than on other alloys and most customers are happier with Type IIB for their products using alloy 2024 where appearance is a factor.

Type IIB
Type IIB is a thin decorative finish. We target 0.3 mils for this process. If the product is dyed, then we recommend it be limited to indoor applications. On clear products, it gives a more silver finish. We recommend it for alloy 2024 finishes. (Black 2024 looks good in Type II or Type IIB.)

Type III
Type III is often called hard anodizing, although we have seen companies reference Type II as a hard finish. Our Type III is a true hard finish. We anodize the aluminum at a very low temperature and grow it to thicknesses of 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, and 2.0 mils. Because of the thickness and the density of this film, the clear color of Type III ranges from a gray color for 1.0 mil to a dark chocolate or dark gray color for 2.0 mils on 6061. The clear color is affected significantly by the aluminum alloy being anodized. It dyes black very nicely.

This film is primarily used when a very hard, abrasion resistant film is desired. Two mil Type III has over 3.5 times more Aluminum oxide on the surface when compared to a Type II 0.6 mil finish.

Aluminum oxide is a relatively clear compound that cannot be dyed. The reason anodizing film can be dyed is because the process creates about 40 billion pores per square inch. We are able to pack these pores with organic dyes.

Fading
All anodizing dye/colorants fade when exposed to UV light. Some fade faster than others. In an effort to slow the rate of fading 1) our dye tanks have high dye concentrations, 2) our standard films are at recommended thickness for exterior exposure, 3) we purchase the best dyes in each color class we can find for fade resistance and 4) we use nickel-based seals.

The less dye there is in the pours of the anodizing film, the less fade resistant the film is. Therefore, we generally recommend using a high dye concentration and leaving the product in the dye tank until we reach full saturation, or, in other words, filling the pores as much as possible with dye molecules.

Although we do all we can, it is the nature of anodized films that nearly all dyes will eventually fade. The fade resistance of an anodizing dye is typically rated on a scale of 1-8+, with 8+ being the most resistant to fading. Each incremental value on the scale indicates that it takes twice as long to see a color shift of 75%. Occasionally dye manufactures will add the caveat that the dye is for inside use only and still give a higher fade resistance number.

We use Nickle Acetate and Nickle Fluoride seals, which apparently absorb and/or reflect UV light and reduce the susceptibility to fading.

This article in Finishing and Coating has a nice summary about minimizing fading of anodized parts: https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/anodizing/473-steps-to-minimize-fading-of-anodized-colors

Consistency
Color consistency from batch to batch can be a challenge with anodized aluminum; black being the exception. Anything that affects the pore dimensions, pore shapes and film thickness can affect the color. One of these factors is the surface finish of the aluminum which is driven by the aggressiveness of the final machining cut, the sharpness of the cutting tools, whether the surfaces is DA’ed or tumbled, whether the part is lathed or cut in a mill, etc. Another factor is the material which includes the alloy and the billet (every billet is slightly different). The anodizing process also has many variables affecting the pores’ dimensions including the chemistry of several tanks, the amount of etch the product gets, the current density used to grow the film, the tank temperatures, the dye concentrations, the amount of dye adsorbed (dye time), the dye used, the dye blend, tank contaminants, and the thickness of the film. We strive to control the variables in our process to decrease color variability and continuously make improvements to those controls. We also purchase high quality, single component dyes whenever possible so that we are more consistent. One cannot expect anodizing to have the color consistency of paint. There are too many variables that significantly impact the color from part to part and batch to batch.

For color consistency, multicomponent dyes are problematic. Some constituents may adsorb faster than others creating a color shift over time. This is particularly the case with most grays, greens (including olive drab), and flat dark earth dyes.

Some dyes are not stable in their liquid state and new batches of dye must be mixed for each day’s or week’s production. This is often the case with green colors.

Color Matching
There are a limited number of dyes/pigments that are small enough to fit in the pinholes in the anodizing film. That is why there are no true whites for anodizing. That is also why anodizing dyes tend to be organic. We can therefore, rarely give an exact match to a pantone color, for example. We get a hue and concentration that is as close as possible to the desired color and then we will work with you to determine the desired dye time for your products. If a dye time is not noted on the PO, we will dye your product to the specified saturation time for that dye.

Although we can come close to matching colors other than black between 6061 and 5052 aluminum, it is more difficult to get a match between 6061 and 2024 aluminum. It is nearly impossible to get a good match between 6061 and 7075 aluminum. Black is very consistent between alloys.

Surface Finish
The rougher the surface is, the grayer the color will be. It is just how light is reflected. Scratches in the aluminum with clear anodizing stand out as a grayish line. Bead blasted black is much less intense and more gray than a polished black. This is true for all the colors. The most noticeable of these is bead blasted gold, which in my opinion, looks mottled and ugly. Sandblasted black looks light gray.

Production Colors Available Through Sapphire Metal Finishing

• Black: We have been able to locate an excellent black dye. It is an 8+ on the fade resistance scale and is also relatively heat resistant. After 4 hours at 450 degrees F, there was a barely noticeable shift in color. We tested this dye by exposing it to UV light, 24-7, for 12 months and there was a barely discernible shift in color.
• Deep Red: Our red dye is a deep fire engine red. We can decrease its intensity slightly by decreasing the time in the dye tank. Red dyes are notoriously susceptible to fading. Most red dyes we are aware of are only recommended for indoor applications. With that said, the red we supply is the best we have found so far. Its fade resistance is rated at a 7 (even though it is only recommended for indoor use). We tested this dye by exposing it to UV light, 24-7, for 6 months and most of the color was completely gone.
• Fade Resistant Red: We have a red for small production runs that has a fade resistance of 8+ for outdoor use. It has a subtle orangish hue. It is more expensive than our standard red.
  Blue: Our blue is a true blue, very similar to BSU’s blue. We can decrease its intensity (and fade resistance) by decreasing the time in the dye tank. It has a fade resistance rating of 8. We tested this dye by exposing it to UV light, 24-7, for 12 months and there was a small shift in color.
• Orange: Our orange is a rich KTM orange. We can decrease its intensity by decreasing the time in the dye tank. There is a slight hue shift away from the red spectrum when we do this. Longer time in the tank yields an attractive burnt orange color. It has a fade resistance rating of 6. We tested this dye by exposing it to UV light, 24-7, for 12 months and there was a barely discernible shift in color.
• Gold: The gold we presently have ranges from a bright gold color to an orangish gold color, depending on the time in the tank. It is rated 8 on the fade resistance scale.
• Light Tan: This color ranges from a very light tan to a light brown, depending on the time in the tank. It is rated 5 on the fade resistance scale.
• Olive Drab: This multicomponent dye is significantly affected by variations in film thickness and small variations in dye time. It makes consistency challenging. It is rated 6 on the fade resistance scale.
• Gray on 6061: We achieve this color on 6061 by using the electrochemical process to pull the magnesium from the alloy in a consistent way. This creates a durable, very dense film with a consistent gray color that will never fade at all. We are being told by one very experienced laser marking company that they had to shift from their 50 watt to their 100 watt laser to effectively mark this film.
• Clear: It probably goes without saying, but there is no dye in clear so it cannot fade. It is important that we are consistent in our thickness so that each batch looks the same.
  Miscellaneous Colors: To help our customer’s on special projects, we have done pink, purple, green, lime green, yellow, brown, copper brown, turquoise, various (irritating) grays, etc. The volumes are typically so small on these colors that we mix 1 to 5 gallon batches. Needless to say these specials cost a little more.

You can choose whether to, or how long to have your product etched. The etch process creates a more uniform, matte appearance. Too long of an etch can highlight grain structures in the aluminum billet. These generally look like small ovals that are located in the outer part of the billet. Some runs of aluminum are more susceptible to showing these grain boundaries. You must state on your order if you want a different etch time than our default for the process you order. We are happy to provide samples to help you determine the etch time that meets your expectations.

Etch considerations for non-blasted parts.

• Our standard process includes a default one minute etch. This tends to give a consistent appearance and, for Type II, makes it so the final anodized surface has nearly the same dimensions as the product before it was anodized. See the discussion on dimensions in the design rule section. The one minute etch is like using satin rather than high gloss paint on your walls. High gloss tends to make imperfections more noticeable.
• If you have a smooth, shiny machined surface and want your final product to have that appearance then you should not etch the product.
• It is best not to etch alloy 2024. Etching tends to make the finish less attractive.
• If your product is tumbled then we recommend a one minute etch. This makes the surface look more uniform.
• If you want a very matte finish then a longer etch could be considered. If the material is billet, there is a risk of highlighting grain boundaries after one minute of etch. We cannot guarantee the appearance of the finish if an etch time over one minute is selected.
• Forged 7075 should not get more than a 30 second etch. When 7075 is forged, a layer with high zinc concentration may be created just below the surface. If, during processing, the anodized film extends down to this zinc-rich layer it will be susceptible to delamination/flaking. It is best if it is not etched at all.
• Caste tool and jig plate such as MIC-6, ATP-5, K-100S, and Alca-5 should never be etched. The micro-pores in the material entrap acid during the anodizing process. The acid leaks out in the subsequent, higher temperature dye process. The acid bleaches the dye as it leaks out and create silver speckles. Etching opens the pores even more and increases the frequency and the size of the speckles.
• Caste aluminum and other alloys with high silicon content should not be etched. Etching leaves an extra layer of silicon on the surface. We do not use a fluoride desmut at Sapphire for safety reasons so the silicon is not removed during desmut and it leaves the anodized finish with a dull, dirty gray color.

Etch considerations for blasted parts.

• Blast adds extra texture to the part that allows for longer etching without showing any grain boundaries. We have also found that the rougher the surface is, the duller and grayer the dyed parts appear. A longer etch mellows the texture and allows the color to show better. And last, the rougher the surface is the more the seal smut clings to it and leaves a white residue on the finished product that is very difficult to remove.
• For bead blasted 6061 and 5052 we recommend a two minute etch to get a tactical matte finish that shows good color and tends to allow the seal smut to rinse off. For 7075 we recommend a one minute etch.

Our standard seal is a hot nickel acetate seal followed by a hot water seal/rinse.

Anodized aluminum has around 400 billion pores per square inch with a diameter of 25 to 300 nanometers. They are about 7 to 50 microns deep, depending on the thickness of the anodizing film. At the bottom of the pore is a thin barrier layer of aluminum oxide that is 10 to 100 nanometers thick. If these pores are not sealed or filled in, they offer a path for corrosive chemicals to reach the aluminum substrate. The seal process is used to close of these access points and to encapsulate the dyes adsorbed in the pores so that color is retained.

When an aluminum oxide film is exposed to hot water, the aluminum oxide combines with water molecules in a process called hydrolysis and creates a larger, softer molecule that decreases the diameter of the pores. By adding nickel ions to the hot water, the process of filling the pores is enhanced, and the pores, particularly at the opening, are completed closed. Other technologies using nickel fluoride or chromium ions at lower temperatures are also available and generally achieve the same goal of sealing the pores. We are able to offer the hot nickel acetate, hot water, chromate, and nickel fluoride seals. All pass salt spray testing. According to literature, the best seal available is likely hot nickel acetate seal followed by a hot water rinse. Our salt spray test results indicate that the low temperature nickel fluoride with nickel acetate performs as well as the hot nickel acetate seal. Hot nickel acetate and low temperature nickel fluoride with nickel acetate are our standard seals that we do interchangeably on all products unless requested by the customer to do otherwise.

We have the option to skip the seal altogether. This is not a good idea on any dyed product or products where discoloration from the adsorption of chemicals in the pores is undesirable. However, the seal process softens the surface of the anodizing film. The literature lists values from 3% to 25% decrease in hardness when a product is sealed. I believe it is closer to the 3% value. As you can see, this impact is still up for debate. Because of this, if the primary objective is wear resistance, it is common for customers to request Type III unsealed. This will give the most wear resistant layer. Also because the pores are left open, the film can adsorb lubricants in the pores and enhance wear resistance if the lubricants are small enough to get into the pores.

We also offer a Teflon coating on anodized films, MIL-A-63576 Type I, which supposedly impregnates the open pores of the anodizing film with PTFE. We do this because it is sometimes requested by customers. Those marketing this process state that is improves lubricity by impregnating a Teflon molecule into the pores of the anodizing film. However, the Teflon molecule is too large to go into the pores and it will not chemically bond to Aluminum oxide, therefore the Teflon coating is a thin layer with mechanical adhesion that wears off. The lubricity effects are only temporary. I have not found any scientific, non-marketing (biased) data supporting this technology as a long-term lubricity solution or an adequate seal. In general, I believe this process is not a good use of our customer’s money, but I’ll do it for you if you so request it. The MIL-A-63576 spec describing this process was canceled without replacement on 06 December 1985.

We provide masking and plugging services for our customers. We have plugs, laser removal, taped masking and painted masking. We can also fabricate specialized masking fixtures. Masking is labor intensive and disproportionately increases the cost of the anodizing service.

With plugging, a silicon plug is inserted into the masked feature. On some features, it is more cost effective to remove the anodizing film with a laser after the part is anodized. With taped masking, an adhesive polyester film is cut and applied to the area to be masked. Painted masking is a labor-intensive, expensive process where we hand paint a special coating onto the masked areas of the parts. This paint must be removed using solvents after the part is anodized.

I have found that masking is probably specified much more often than it is needed. When you study the dimension discussion in the design rule section you will understand why. Masking is primarily used for three reasons,

1. to maintain an electrically conductive area for grounding or similar connections, to
2. to prevent dimensional changes, or
3. to decrease acid bleaching or Aluminum sulfate buildup in blind holes.

Reason 1: When electrical conductivity is needed, masking is always justified and important.

Reason 2: If your product receives our standard etch and a Type II film (which most products we are asked to mask do receive), then the only places we have seen where reason 2 should be used is when tolerances are less than about 0.1 mils. This generally applies to some press-fit applications. We have run tests on threaded holes down to M3 with no material effect on the hole dimensions. Variations on the etch time and the film type will impact your plugging. Type III can significantly affect dimensions and masking/plugging is appropriate when the film growth is not taken into account while machining.

Reason 3: For well controlled anodizing processes, the single biggest challenge is small threaded blind holes. They do not rinse well so they can bleed out acid during the dye process and cause bleached areas around the hole. This is also common on large threaded holes that are plugged because the space behind the plug acts as a thermal pump, sucking in acid in the cold processes through the thread and pushing it back out in the hot dye process. We have not found a foolproof answer for the smaller threaded holes, but we have found it is generally best not to plug threaded holes on dyed products.
We control our chemistry carefully, rinse carefully, and blow out all holes so, although it does happen, we do not see Aluminum sulfate buildup in blind holes very often on products we anodize.

Our tanks allow us to process parts up to 99 inches long, 22 inches wide, and 48 inches deep for clear, gray and black requirements. Our current red, blue, orange and gold dye tanks are much smaller, requiring parts to be smaller than 12 x 12 x 24 inches.

We have extensive experience with 6061, 7075, MIC 6, 5052, ATP5, and 2024. We have also anodized many other aluminum alloys, such as castings, 6063 and forged 7075.

Forged 7075 can have delamination issues if not processed correctly so it is critical to tell us if the alloy is forged so we can minimize delamination risks.

Aluminum alloys with high silicon content, such as cast aluminum, do not look good.

Most alloys cannot be processed with other alloys, especially Type III, because they rob current from each other causing non-uniform thicknesses and an increased risk of burn.

Alloy 2024 must run at a much higher voltage than the other alloys and anodizes poorly in Type III. It burns easily and it is difficult to grow more than about 1.3 mils. It should not be etched for cosmetic reasons.

It is very important that we know the alloy.

Sapphire’s etch process removes approximately 0.125 mils per minute.

The Aluminum oxide film occupies roughly twice the volume of the Aluminum that is oxidized to make the film; therefore for every mil of Aluminum consumed, the Aluminum oxide film will be 2 mils thick.  The net effect on the surface of the product is presented in the following table.  Etch rates are specific to each anodizer, but the remainder of the information is generally applicable.

Following you will find excerpts from the book “Aluminum – How To” by Robert H. Probert to illustrate concepts discussed in the above chart.

Hard Coat builds half into the surface and half on top of the original surface. Figure 8-2 illustrates how 0.002 inches thick looks on the diameter of a ¾ inch shaft. Half of the thickness is under the original dimension and half is on top. Therefore, 0.002 inches thickness (on two sides) of hard coat on an original 0.750 inch diameter shaft will now measure 0.752 on the micrometer.

Radius Requirements
The following excerpt and images summarize radius requirements in MIL-A-8625F and clearly explain the importance of these requirements for product design.

Corners
Normally the anodizing grows perpendicular to the surface. This has been confirmed by observing microsections. Figure 8-3 illustrates potential variations that can result from sharp corners on the part. Also, if the surface has been mechanically abused by blasting, sanding, tumbling, work hardening, etc. prior to anodizing, then the growth may be slightly different from perfectly perpendicular.

If the growth is perpendicular, an outside sharp 90-degree corner is left with a void. Similarly, in an inside corner the vertical growth crashes into the adjacent wall. The same thing happens on the inside of a round tube. When a certain thickness is reached, depending on the diameter of the tube, the growth crashes into itself and crazes or chips off.

Corners, therefore, should be rounded with the largest radius the part can stand and still be functional.

The Military Specification MIL-A-8625F, Table III, offer some recommendations for the radius of rounded corners for inside or outside.
If the coating thickness is: Radius of Curvature should be:
0.0001 inch 1/32 inch
0.002 inch 1/16 inch
0.003 inch 3/32 inch
0.004 inch 1/8 inch

Anodizing Welds
Aluminum filler alloy 5356 should be used if a reasonable color match between the weld and the surrounding aluminum is desired. Most other filler alloys such as 4043 will leave a dark gray color and will not be attractive after anodizing.

It is important that the welds are cleaned thoroughly prior to oxidizing to improve the final appearance of the weld. Any areas that were overheated when welding will typically be visible through, and sometimes highlighted by, the anodizing film. The anodizing film grows differently and absorbs dye differently in the hot spot because the crystalline structure of the aluminum was changed in that area.

One should be aware that aluminum welds will not look as good as the surrounding metal. Minimizing hot spots, requesting that Sapphire only etch one minute or less, cleaning the welds well, and especially using 5356 as your filler alloy will give you the greatest chance of being satisfied with your final welded and anodized product.

Take dimensional changes caused by anodizing into account when designing and machining your product.

Make sure there are no steel inserts or other metal attachments. Non-aluminum metals tend to dissolve in the anodizing process.

Make sure you have the surface finish you desire. Anodizing does not hide defects like paint, rather it tends to highlight surface variations and defects.

Clean your product so it doesn’t contaminate the anodizing tanks. With that said, a fine film of machine coolant is probably good. When a product is cleaned too well, the surface tends to be reactive. Any moisture will oxidize the surface, such as water spots from splashes or incomplete drying. These oxidized areas telegraph through the anodizing. The anodizing process cannot remove them. We have seen parts cleaned in dishwashers. They are wonderfully clean and typically have water spot defects that nobody likes.

Make sure the product is completely dry, including blind holes, before packaging. This is particularly important when packaging or stacking parts next to each other or when using plastic to protect the part. If moisture gets on the touching surfaces, oxidation occurs.

Clean blind holes and blow them out shortly after machining. If coolant dries in the blind holes, it will migrate out during the dye process and block dye absorption. Generally, it is best to rinse a part in clear water immediately after taking it out of the CNC. The part should then be blown off with compressed air, paying particular attention to blind holes. Make sure there are no shavings in the blind holes. Set the part on a moisture absorbing material such as terry cloth. Do not let parts touch each other.

Sapphire Contact Information

Sapphire Contact Information     208.614.4050

Location, Mailing and Shipping Address:

Sapphire Metal Finishing, Inc.
4115 Challenger Way
Caldwell, ID 83605

New Customer Information

To set you up as a customer, we would ask that you provide us with your Sales Tax Exemption form.  It is the ST-101 if you are located in Idaho and are sales tax exempt. Also, if required, please provide us with a copy of your FFL.

Required Ordering Information

The Sapphire team is expected to process your product exactly as specified on your drawings, when submitted, or your PO if drawings are not submitted. In order to ensure your product is processed to your expectations the following information is critical.

• The film type and thickness
• The color and, if known, the dye time. In the MIL spec Class 1 is clear and Class 2 is dyed.
• The etch time
• The aluminum alloy
• The surface area of each part. We use this information to make sure we have enough electrical contact to avoid burning, are supplying enough current, and have a uniform film growth. We also use surface area as part of our pricing model. This can be pulled from your cad drawings.
• All plugging requirements
• Any special racking requirements
• Drawings of your product are preferred. It is very helpful to mark masking requirements and special callouts on the drawing with a highlighter.
• Compliances required such as RoHS, REACH and ITAR
• Whether a certification is required
• Whether an FFL is required to process the product. This helps us insure proper custody procedures are followed.

We also need to know your contact name, shipping address, email address, phone number and any special shipping instructions.

Examples of what should appear on the PO follow. If there is no callout, we may call you for more information or we may select one of our standard processes based on our experience.

Example 1:
MIL-A-8625F Type II Class 2 Black
MIC-6
512 square inches
RoHS compliant
Certification Required

Example 2
MIL-A-8625F Type III Class 1 Clear 2 mil
1 minute etch
6061
102.4 square inches
No Seal
Mask 3 holes per attached drawing

Example 3:
MIL-A-8625F Type IIB Class 1 Clear
0 minute etch
2024
Do not rack on exterior surface
Nickel acetate seal
ITAR compliant

Receiving

When we receive your product, we first review your PO and make sure we understand what you want us to do. If we do not clearly understand your expectations, we will contact you and seek clarification. We verify that the quantity received matches the quantity on the PO when we unpackage and rack the order.

We enter the data from the PO into a database that generates our travelers and any required certifications. We also use this data in our scheduling process. Our travelers tell our operators how to prepare, rack and process your product, so the correct data on your PO is critical.

Notification of Completion

We will notify you that your product is complete and ready for pickup by sending you an email.

Packaging

We strive to package parts the same way we receive them, typically using the same packaging material,

Shipping

The items we anodize are FOB Sapphire. We ask you to make arrangements to have your product delivered and picked up. If you wish us to ship on your UPS or FedEx account, please provide a return shipping label. We can also ship on our UPS account and pass on the shipping costs.

Pricing

We strive to be competitive in our pricing. If you ever feel our prices are too high (or too low) we would like to review it with you and work out something that is fair and justified by the market and the value we provide.

We price a little differently than most platers. Our pricing is based on a formula that uses surface area and the processing requirements to calculate the base price we charge. This determines a per item base price. We do not have a minimum batch charge. Instead, we add a line-item fee that covers the costs of handling an item through the system. The line-item fee divided by the number of parts of the particular item plus the base price gives the final price we charge. For large accounts that send the same part in every week or two, we waive the line-item fee.

Lead Time

Our standard lead time is typically under 10 work days unless an order is extremely large, has significant plugging requirements, or requires us to order specialized racking. We will do what we can to accommodate special lead time needs. We continuously work to decrease lead times with our goal being under 5 work days, but as we make progress on this goal, we gain more customers and it pushes us back out to 7 to 9 days.

We do offer expedite services.  Please contact us for expediting lead times and costs.  We are also able to offer you an account in which you can log in and monitor the status of your orders.

Payment

Terms are based upon credit approval.

We are capable of taking credit cards, but we do have a pass-through charge of 4% when a credit card is used for payment.

Anodizing is a very complex process with many variables. Because of this, there is risk associated with the process. We recognize anodizing is typically the last step in the long, and often expensive, process of creating a finished product. We do all we can to mitigate the risk and implement permanent, process oriented corrective actions when something does go wrong. Some of the risks are described below.

We run very high turbulence in our tanks. This helps us to achieve high quality, consistency, uniformity and a lack of contamination critical to an excellent anodizing finish. The down side to this is occasionally parts will wash off in our tanks. We do all we can to find them, but the reality is parts can go missing.

There is a lot of human handling associated with racking, unracking and blowing off parts. Occasionally parts will be dropped. The parts usually land on the rubber mats we have in place and are undamaged. They have hit each other or landed on concrete and have been damaged.

A part may burn if we do not have adequate electrical contact. That normally doesn’t happen when we are provided the actual surface area, but there is increased risk when we have to estimate/calculate the surface area. Burning can also happen if a burr breaks away from the part during anodizing. Good deburring decreases this risk as well. Type III 2024 is inherently prone to burning.

With new finishes, new products and complex racking situations, the probability of things going wrong increases. Clear and thorough instructions and drawings decrease the risk of incorrect processing. We see thousands of parts every week and it is best not to trust our memories.

Tool/Jig Plate that is caste, such as MIC-6, ATP5 and K100 have small voids in the surface caused by the porosity of the metal. MIC-6 is by far the most porous. Acid gets into these pores and then leaches back out during the dye process. The acid bleaches the dye and creates small undyed areas around the pores. This can only be a problem only if the product is dyed. We do all we can with our processing, but these light specks are very common and are an inherent attribute of the caste process. We do not guarantee the appearance of the finish on caste aluminum. We have found that preparatory 220 grit sanding and, to a lesser degree, tumbling of caste plate crushes the openings of these voids and decreases the number of noticeable specks significantly. Polishing, etching, and using scotch brite on the surface increases the number of specks.

When problems occur we institute corrective actions to decrease the probability of the same problem occurring again. You are welcome to those corrective action reports.

When problems cause damage or when parts are lost we cannot replace the part or compensate for its value. We will not charge for the lost or damaged part. We would have to charge significantly more to be able to indemnify all losses.

We do guarantee our services. If you are not satisfied, we will reimburse you for the anodizing costs you incurred. We warrant our work up to what you paid us to have the specific item(s) of concern anodized. We do not warrant for any additional costs, damages, legal fees, losses or issues beyond what you paid for the specific item(s) to be anodized.