Why finishing in-house matters

Many CNC shops outsource finishing. The part ships to an anodizer, sits in their queue, gets done, ships back. That adds a week to every order, introduces a second vendor's quality system to your part, and makes warranty disputes complicated — whose fault was the streaky anodize?

We run our own anodizing line, blast cabinets, passivation tanks, powder booth, and laser marker. When a part comes off the machining center with a surface-finish requirement, it walks 20 meters to the finishing cell and gets processed that day. The same engineer who specified the finish oversees it. If something looks wrong, we catch it before shipping — not after it lands at your dock.

What we still outsource

Specialty coatings we send to qualified partners: electroless nickel plating, hard chrome plating, PVD/DLC coatings, Parylene, and precision polishing (to Ra 0.05 μm or below). We vet every partner and include their work in our quality system. You see a single invoice.

§ 01 / Equipment

Machines currently in operation.

Machine Capacity Spindle / Capability Qty Typical use
Anodize line (Type II)1200 × 600 × 800 mmClear, black, red, blue, gold, custom15–25 μm films
Hard anodize (Type III)1000 × 500 × 700 mmNatural gray, black125–75 μm films
Bead blast cabinets600 × 600 × 600 mm#80–#220 glass or ceramic3Matte uniform texture
Passivation line500 × 300 × 500 mm bathNitric or citric acid, ASTM A9671Stainless corrosion resistance
Powder coat booth1500 × 800 × 1200 mmRAL/Pantone colors, textured150–125 μm film
Laser marker (fiber)100 × 100 mm fieldAlphanumeric, 2D codes, logos2Permanent, no dye
§ 02 / Applications

Parts we make most often with this process.

CATEGORY · ANODIZE TYPE II

Decorative & mildly functional

Consumer electronics enclosures, camera gear, aerospace ground hardware. 5–25 μm film, dyes well in most standard colors.

CATEGORY · ANODIZE TYPE III

Hard/wear-resistant surfaces

Pistons, wear plates, firearms components, industrial valves. 25–75 μm film, 400–500 HV surface hardness.

CATEGORY · BEAD BLAST

Texture & visual consistency

Removes machining marks, creates uniform matte finish. Ideal substrate for subsequent anodizing or powder coat.

CATEGORY · PASSIVATION

Stainless corrosion upgrade

Removes free iron from stainless surfaces, restores chromium oxide layer. ASTM A967, nitric or citric acid per customer preference.

CATEGORY · BLACK OXIDE

Low-cost steel finish

Steel parts where a durable black finish is needed but anodize/paint isn't appropriate. Mild corrosion resistance, no dimensional change.

CATEGORY · LASER MARKING

Permanent identification

Serial numbers, lot codes, 2D data matrix codes, logos. Contrast on anodized aluminum is excellent; on bare metals, it's a dark etch.

§ 03 / Design considerations

What to know before releasing a drawing.

01
Anodize color variation between lots
6061 and 7075 dye slightly differently across heat lots — especially for mid-saturation colors like red or blue. If your batch must be color-matched, request 'single heat lot' at quote time. Black anodize is nearly immune to this variation.
02
Threading after finish
Anodize grows slightly on surfaces — roughly 30% of the film thickness outward. A Ø10 H7 hole becomes Ø10.01 H7 after 15 μm anodize. For press-fit or threaded assemblies, specify whether dimensions are 'before' or 'after' anodize.
03
Masking for selective finish
If some surfaces must stay unfinished (electrical contacts, precision bores, threaded holes), we can mask them. Each masked feature adds ~$3–$8 per part. For production runs, custom silicone plugs amortize this cost; for prototypes, we mask by hand.
04
Electrical isolation concerns
Type II anodize is electrically insulating. If you need conductive aluminum (for RF grounding or thermal dissipation through contact), specify Alodine (MIL-DTL-5541 Class 3) instead — conductive and corrosion-resistant.
05
Laser marking on specific materials
Fiber laser marks clearly on steel, stainless, and anodized aluminum. On bare aluminum, marks are subtle (dark gray etch on silver); if you need high-contrast bare-aluminum markings, specify 'laser annealing' or 'marking paste' (extra step, +$2/pc).

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