A Clam Bed Awaits

[BlueFin]

A new Bed Of Clams (My largest order yet) is preparing to be shipped off to their new owners on Monday. All machining was done with a Tormach over the last few days.

http://www.bluefincnc.com

[pete from TN]

Neat product ya got there, I am working on something to build for my Lathemaster cnc mill to run that is rifle or airgun related right now and I hope to start making some money with it soon. NIce to be able to make a few bucks here and there without having to leave the house no?!!

[BlueFin]

Neat product ya got there, I am working on something to build for my Lathemaster cnc mill to run that is rifle or airgun related right now and I hope to start making some money with it soon. NIce to be able to make a few bucks here and there without having to leave the house no?!!

Thanks, yeah that was a bit of an unexpected benefit, all of the work I have done in the past required at least one if not many hours of driving to get to work. Now I can come home from my real job, get on McMaster Carr, DigiKey or the MSC website and order whatever I need 24-7. I can even self weigh, self stamp and ship from the local USPS office at 3 O clock in the morning if I need to.

[saabaero]

Do you anodize them or are they as machined?

[BlueFin]

Do you anodize them or are they as machined?

Funny you should ask, that whole stack was going to be part of a much larger production run in order to get enough sent in to be anodized and keep per unit costs down. I have been selling them as machined, but I want to make them in black because the radio they fit is all black. But I got hit with the order and had to sell all my parts the day they came off the machine The minimum price for anodize makes it tough to get small items done unless you have hundreds of them.

[deere_x475guy]

Funny you should ask, that whole stack was going to be part of a much larger production run in order to get enough sent in to be anodized and keep per unit costs down. I have been selling them as machined, but I want to make them in black because the radio they fit is all black. But I got hit with the order and had to sell all my parts the day they came off the machine The minimum price for anodize makes it tough to get small items done unless you have hundreds of them.

I am experiencing the same thing her in MI. I have to have at least 100 parts in the make the pricing work.

[Don Clement]

I always have parts anodized. Even though aluminum doesn't rust it will corrode. Color is mostly esthetic, but that layer of aluminium oxide is important for prevention of corrosion. I have all of my parts black anodized to MIL-A-8625 Class II and the shop that does that also pre-etches the aluminum surface to make a matt black finish specifically for optics. This is after I run all aluminum parts in a vibratory deburring machine with a middle grade plastic medium for a matt finish. The black anodized finish may look flat black but at IR wavelengths (where CCD detectors are most sensitive) is actually quite reflective so I use geometry as much as possible to make surfaces that reflect away light or absorb light such a finishing an ID with a sharp V threading.

There are other coatings than anodizing such as painting but painting requires a special hazardous primer with zinc chromate (I use Dupont Variprime 615S and 616S self etching converter) 3M used to make an excellent broadband low reflective flat black paint called Nextel velvet coating 101-C10 black. But you can't get that anymore. Too bad or I might not anodize and use zinc chromate primer followed by a coating of Nextel 101-C10 black.

BTW minimum lot cost for anodizing is ~$75.


Don

[deere_x475guy]

I always have parts anodized. Even though aluminum doesn't rust it will corrode. Color is mostly esthetic, but that layer of aluminium oxide is important for prevention of corrosion. I have all of my parts black anodized to MIL-A-8625 Class II and the shop that does that also pre-etches the aluminum surface to make a matt black finish specifically for optics. This is after I run all aluminum parts in a vibratory deburring machine with a middle grade plastic medium for a matt finish. The black anodized finish may look flat black but at IR wavelengths (where CCD detectors are most sensitive) is actually quite reflective so I use geometry as much as possible to make surfaces that reflect away light or absorb light such a finishing an ID with a sharp V threading.

There are other coatings than anodizing such as painting but painting requires a special hazardous primer with zinc chromate (I use Dupont Variprime 615S and 616S self etching converter) 3M used to make an excellent broadband low reflective flat black paint called Nextel velvet coating 101-C10 black. But you can't get that anymore. Too bad or I might not anodize and use zinc chromate primer followed by a coating of Nextel 101-C10 black.

BTW minimum lot cost for anodizing is ~$75.


Don

Don that's a very good price, here it is $240 minimum for hard anodizing. I may need to go look farther out of town.

[Don Clement]

Don that's a very good price, here it is $240 minimum for hard anodizing. I may need to go look farther out of town.

I believe hard anodizing is type III. I only have type II anodizing done. That may be why the minimum lot cost is lower.

Don

[300sniper]

i asked a place around here about hard anodizing and they had a $100 minimum.

[Freddy Bastard]

Maybe you should consider to buy a anodizing kit and do it in house. It's not very expensive.

[deere_x475guy]

Maybe you should consider to buy a anodizing kit and do it in house. It's not very expensive.

There is no kit available for hard anodizing that I know of. The major issue for a home shop would be to keep the proper temp. It has to stay very cool.

[BlueFin]

Don that's a very good price, here it is $240 minimum for hard anodizing. I may need to go look farther out of town.

Both places that I know of here have a $70 minimum, since they only want .30 cents per part I need something like 240 of them, or if I send in 70 of them then I am paying $1 per part, which is doable, but .30 cents would be nicer. But I don't know what kind of anodize that is for, I just asked for Black