Marking hard anodize

[Dave Johnson29]

Hi All,

In a long past posting I said I would test some hard anodized stuff that I had here. I finally got around to it. Hard is definitely the word.

I laughed at my normal anodized settings. I finished up using the same setting as cutting acrylic. Then it removed some serious coating. Hard anodizing can be almost 0.003" thick and the stuff I had here must have been close.

There is a definite depression where the lettering is.

Sorry for taking so long. I am old, I forget stuff. ;)

[Tim Goldstein]

We mark both clear and black hard anodizing all the time. Pretty straight forward. If you get the setting right you end up with very nice white marking. If you hit it too hard you burn all the way through to the metal and the mark is not as nice as the white is gone.

[Richard Rumancik]

We mark both clear and black hard anodizing all the time. . . .

Are you sure it was hard anodizing and not just regular anodize? I didn't think hard anodize was even available in clear - it is usually grey or black. Hard anodizing uses a special process and gives a very thick (.002") coating which can be used for sliding wear surfaces in machines, tools, fixtures, etc. Regular anodize (that can be color dyed) is very thin.

[Tim Goldstein]

I am sure.

I have probably spent well over $5000.00 having it applied to the parts that we make over the last 4 years.

You are correct that what the anodizers call clear is more of a grey/bronze depending on the alloy it is applied to and the thickness it is built up to. But it is called clear in the finishing industry.

The thickness has nothing to do with it being hard anodizing. That is controlled by the temperature and current it is done at. You can specify any thickness you want up to about .003". All depends on the intended usage as to the thickness you want. Too thick and it starts to get crack lines in it.

Here is a photo of one of our products that is hard anodized in clear and then lasered. And no, they are not black. Black is very dark and glossy at this thickness of .0015" - .002".