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Home Xometry Community Materials & Finishes Painting or anodizing?

Painting or anodizing?

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Hello, I’m working on the design of an avionic system. When the outline of the parts is complex (like for example with a large heat sink), I use a hard black anodizing according to the MIL-A-8625 standard. The rest of the parts are painted with epoxy or polyurethane paint in accordance with our specifications. But so I wonder: wouldn’t it be simpler to use this hard anodized coating for all parts and save and at the same time avoid additional painting costs? Are there advantages / disadvantages of anodizing compared to painting? For example, in the case of anodizing, I have to mask certain areas (like electrical contact areas), while with painting, the entire piece can be painted without masking the contact areas. Ideas, feedback?

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Solved by Pierre-Yves Huet

Hello
As a Senior Technical Support Engineer at Xometry, I have seen a great number of orders for parts treated according to the different processes you mention. Hard anodizing has the advantage of improving the surface hardness of the part while only slightly altering the dimensions. But indeed it significantly reduces conductivity.
I did not know, however, that powder coating (epoxy/PU) maintained the conductivity of the parts, and we see for both processes parts ordered with requests for localized masking. 
For this particular need, I don't know if there is a solution that would allow local conductivity with anodized parts, particularly type III (hard). If one of my colleagues has an experience that can be useful to you, I will contact you.

    • P
      Hello, I’m working on the design of an avionic system. When the outline of the parts is complex (like for example with a large heat sink), I use a hard black anodizing according to the MIL-A-8625 standard. The rest of the parts are painted with epoxy or polyurethane paint in accordance with our specifications. But so I wonder: wouldn’t it be simpler to use this hard anodized coating for all parts and save and at the same time avoid additional painting costs? Are there advantages / disadvantages of anodizing compared to painting? For example, in the case of anodizing, I have to mask certain areas (like electrical contact areas), while with painting, the entire piece can be painted without masking the contact areas. Ideas, feedback?
      Automatically translated from: Français

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    • P
      Xometry Engineer

      Hello
      As a Senior Technical Support Engineer at Xometry, I have seen a great number of orders for parts treated according to the different processes you mention. Hard anodizing has the advantage of improving the surface hardness of the part while only slightly altering the dimensions. But indeed it significantly reduces conductivity.
      I did not know, however, that powder coating (epoxy/PU) maintained the conductivity of the parts, and we see for both processes parts ordered with requests for localized masking. 
      For this particular need, I don’t know if there is a solution that would allow local conductivity with anodized parts, particularly type III (hard). If one of my colleagues has an experience that can be useful to you, I will contact you.

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        Pierre-Yves Huet

        Hello Pierre-Yves, thank you for your detailed response. I will reflect on these points and see how I can adjust my surface treatment choices accordingly. If you ever manage to find specific solutions to maintain local conductivity with anodized parts, I am interested.

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    • I’m waiting for your piece. How long will it take?

      Thank you very much, I await your response

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