How tough is your andized parts ?

[rclint]

I made my first test run this weekend, and tested how abrasion resistant the coating was, I was not happy how fast sand paper removed some color. I done 3 parts surface area= .5 square foot at 75 minutes which should have given me just over a .5 mil thickness. The coating I'm trying to replace is a ceramic coating, I may have to go back with a ceramic coating. Here are some pictures for color it really works, but I don't think anodizing is what I'm looking for in the application. Polyester yarn going around 3 of this at ~2400 rpm. Would a thicker anodize coating be better, or should I look into ceramic coatings ?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/rclint/anoblue.jpg

Thanks. Clint

[rclint]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

Ok I may have answered my own question, I thought I would see if I could hit bare aluminum, I worked at it for a bit, got lots of blue, but no aluminum color, finish is still smooth and shiny...

I tested the original ceramic coating, and it can be done the same way, I would say the ceramic has a lot more abrasion resistance than the anodize, but the blue could stand out on the sand paper more also.

A few notes, the process went way better than I thought..... Working with cast aluminum, the only other thing I may be able to do is use the commercial sealer Caswell sells as compared to steam seal for a bit and a boiling. I found gobs of info that really helped me on this forum, I already had my power supply, but everything else I purchased from Caswell.

About the time I got into this I read the post Fibergeek passed away, he sure helped me out a lot and will never know it, his postings have gave me so much info, I will miss him and never even got to converse with him.

Clint

[sswee]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

How long did you let the part sit before testing? The coating hardens up some after it dries. I try to let mine sit at least overnight before I do anything else with the parts.

What CD are you running and what size PS? A little thicker coating will help.
I've buffed and glass beaded anodized parts to see how tough it was and found the thicker coatings with the higher CD's run with good circulation were very abrasion resistant.

[rclint]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

My power supply is a Mastech 30 volt 6 amp regulated power supply. reading the 720 rule I was scared to anodize at 6 amps (which would have been 12 amps per square foot as compared to the 6 amp per square foot instructions, I have got that down right I think ?) First test was a couple hours after I anodized, then I tried again about 24 hours later.

I anodized these at 3 amps cc mode, the volts went up to 17, then started dropping back down to 15.5 in the end. So you think I should go full 6 amps in constant current mode ? How long would you go (what mil thickness would you shoot for) before the solution starts to eat my anodize layer. If I could grow a 2 mil coating that would be great, I wanted to get at least 6 at a time done, I may need a bigger power supply if this does work out.

Clint

[sswee]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

Did you see a difference checking the coating from 2hrs to 24hrs?
72 in sq SA at a 6A CD is 3 amp on the PS. Sounds like you got that part down. Your supply is just big enough for six of those parts.
I shoot for 1 mil on parts that will have wear and tear on them. I run my parts at 8 ASF to get the run time down to 90 min for 1 mil. It takes a good electrical connection, decent agitation and temp control to get 1 mil consistantly.
The coating continues to grow when the amps start to drop but the pore size is starting to get bigger. That's ok as long as it don't go to far and weaken the coating. What temp. was your tank on the run? The cooler you run, the slower the dissolution and the higher the voltage. To get the coating you want, you'll need to get the voltage to flat line or arc up if possible. An arc down is ok as long as it is slow enough. From my runs a voltage peak between .5 to .7 mil and a .1V drop per 10 min. still gives a good coating at 1 mil. Sorry if I rambled. You've probably read most of this already in other posts.

[rclint]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

I need a better thermometer... I got one of those fish tank types and can't read it good. From the looks of it I was in the high 70* range on the temp.

I will try to get a good thermometer, maybe one of those digital outside/inside types, maybe put a piece of plastic over the end that would drop into the acid solution ? I'm just getting started so I would need to make some ice from distilled water to cool it off, agitation has been by hand with a big plastic spoon. I have a 12 gallon tank, I need to get some type of agitation going, the by hand is already no fun, I have been looking into the pumps, if I go big time I will need a chiller as well, but coming up on winter I can wait on that one.

My next run I will try at a full 6 amps, 12amps per square foot and that will cut my run time to 60 minutes on the .5 square foot , if it pans out and I do run 6 I will get a bigger power supply. I'm using a sput welder for connections, I didn't have any problems with that, and 2 out of 3 of my hangers even anodized LOL. I have no idea what series of cast I'm working with, by the charts it looks like 20 series from the downward arc of the volts.

I hope I don't jinx myself, but this has been surprisingly easier than I expected, there is not much to anodizing, if I can tweak the thickness I may have it.

Thanks for the help sswee, I will get 3 more finished and see what happens, i have one more thing as well. I need a window of raw aluminum to be polished to a mirror shine for a electric eye to read, I tried electrical tape, that worked great in the bead blaster..... no match for the acid LOL, I have some spar finish that I will try on the next run and see how that works.

Clint

[sswee]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

Caswell has some liquid mask, or some rubber glue. You have to let them dry all the way. An aquarium pump and some PVC will get you by. I drilled 1/8" holes to get bigger bubbles and keep the mist down. You'll need it running the higher CD's. You'll also need to get the tank temp down for the higher CD's. I run mine at 60 to 62 degrees to get the thicker coatings. I just got a acid pump for mine and looking into a chiller. Sounds like your moving right along. Just need to dial and tweak everything in. The agitation and some temp control will make a big difference. Let me know how it goes. SS

[rclint]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

I have a pump on the way, I got it from northern tools, cheapest place I could find. I got the 3-MD-MT-HC, that's going by the description, northern tools deems a part number to it instead of using the manufacture part number. I went this way because I normally go cheap to start with, then do it right and spend the money anyway, so really i saved (I think)

I also have been looking at chillers cha-ching!!! You found anything real good and cheap yet ?

Clint

[sswee]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

I got the 3-MD-HC for $200.00. Not cheap at all. The chiller recommended by Fibergeek was about 360.00 for the 1/4 hp, if I remember right. I'll see if I can find the URL for you. I'm still trying to get the best location and hole size for optimum agitation in a new tank with water before I change tanks out. What did you find on the chillers? SS

[rclint]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

http://www.aquastealth.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=245

That's the one Fibergeek posted about, and only $20 for the modification, and price is lower than anywhere I have found. I looked on ebay.... prices range new to over new with a "as is" phrase, who would dump $300 on a used chiller as is ?

Not sure of anymore options, let me know if you find anything. From reading the pumps really heat up the liquid being pumped

[sswee]

Re: How tough is your andized parts ?

That's the one. Everything else I've found has been 3X or more expensive. I'll have to finish a couple of big jobs in process before I can swing it. The $100.00 window unit and box made of 2" white foam is working good for now. I can maintain 60 degrees which is as cold as needed. I just have to leave my tank under the window for now.
While I'm playing with the flow on this new tank I'll drop a thermometer in and run it for a couple of hours and see how much of a temp rise I get. I don't think it'll be bad at all since the pump is not intergrated like it is on a submersible. I'll let you know. SS