As a "professional anodize technician" (big quotes on that one since I'm under 2 years at my company, but have my process down pat), this is the closest to a "professional" as you can get as far as home setups go, I'm highly impressed. The book by R.H. Probert is all our shop has ever used for reference and we always nail our thickness goal (.0005- .0007 measured w/ eddy current), except we base our power supply settings by constant voltage instead of amperage. Really easy if you know what aluminum alloy you're working with specifically. And don't worry, in shops like mine I splash my parts around in the rinse tanks the same way you do! You've got the best, and safest home setup I've seen. Kudos to you for showing the right way to do it.
Thanks! Nice to hear from someone in the industry. I’ll be upgrading my setup since I have more space at my new shop. Not sure what upgrades but I suspect it’ll just be more spread out, and in larger containers.
Excellent walk through, thanks for making it and sharing! We have a slightly larger line. We found setting a programmable power supply to 16 volts constant voltage will then automatically put the current at the exact value it needs to be.
Like the content..thanks..but with zero links to your website..on this video or even listed on any of your channel tab/ pages..I'm guessing you don't actually want new customers to order products from you.. Thanks again for the content..
Cameron - I’ve got a small fidget slider I’m curious if you’d be interested in anodizing… it’s a fidget slider all stainless steel that’s very near and dear to my heart. How could I contact you for more information?
Anodizing only works on aluminum, and there’s another type that’s for titanium. Stainless can be colored but only a few colors I believe. A chemical coloring. Look up caswell plating, I know they have blackening solutions.
Nice video, thanks. I have been doing the for a year or so-- mainly typeIII . Something that can help if you not sure about time in the bath and currents is a thickness gauge, you can get 99% repeatability.
I just moved and still getting my new shop set up. I imagine they’ll be some tweaks to get the knives perfect since I got a new milling machine also. But I’d imagine they’ll turn out even better.
Thanks for the video! I pretty much mirrored your setup but used a low end titanium coil chiller made by vevor. Well it appears to have not worked well. Are you still using that chiller setup? Thanks!
No, I’m not! I built a new chiller that has a much higher cooling capacity! It’s cheap and easy to make, only requires 2 5 gallon buckets, 1/2” pvc hose, hose clamp, drill bits. Unlike my previous cooler, it has so much cooling capacity that the chiller water can be almost the temperature I want the bath to be. With the other chiller, it had to be ice cold to keep it at 70°. I’ll try to do a video on it very soon!
Yeah, I just moved. My shop isn’t set up yet, I don’t even have a milling machine right now! New one is coming tomorrow though! Hope to be selling again in a month.
Can you possibly update your parts list to include how many of each, item on the list or is it 1 of each how they are listed on amazon? Also, bucket count?
@@IronForestKnives thanks for the quick reply. I realized after rewatching the video a third time that you mention the RO+DI System, and now I see it on your parts list from your google doc. I'm going to be building out a setup of my own following your blue print. Are there any changes you would make? I'm also a member of the fb diy group that's how I found you here. If you have a preferred means of communicating let me know. Thank you for all your input here and there.
Thanks for this great video! I've read that pre-anodizing prep with glass beads is a mistake since the beads can shatter and embed glass in the aluminum, which can then affect the ano. Have you had any issues with that? Have you tried blasting with any other materials (walnut shell, stainless steel beads, etc.)?
I do wet blasting, it’s much more gentile. The water acts as a buffer. I’ve never had glass embed. Never tried any other media other than AO which was also wet blasting. If I over blast the parts, they won’t take color as well in some areas. Haven’t figured out why yet, but I haven’t tried to find out either lol.
just started to do some anodizing and the aluminium wire that i'm using which is around 3mm thick keeps burning and disolving. the part being anodized then breaks away around an hour into the anodizing. kept the amps to minimum, around 1A and the part is around 4 square inch. Dont get it.???
4 square inches, as in the entire part surface? All sides? It honestly sounds like you have polarity backwards. Also I put 4 square inches into my calculator and it gave me .167 amps…
Hmmm… it just worked for me. I’ll explain how it works real quick. At the bottom of the current calc tab, you add your part name, then the surface area in sq. Inches of the part. Then change the part quantity to how many you’re doing. Everything else is automated. At the top it will output how many amps you should set your constant current power supply for. It’s the green square labeled “total amps”.
@@IronForestKnives how much votage and amps did you se to anodize all of those knife? from the video I saw you are ate 4.8v and 1.38 amps, is it correct? I thought for anodize we need minimal 12 v?
@@adityasakhakusuma2507 In my opinion… you need a constant current power supply. You can also do constant voltage but the times will be different. With CC the voltage changes throughout the cycle, it raises the voltage to meet its amperage setting as the part becomes less electrically conductive.
I did! Only because there was almost no information about using it available. So it made troubleshooting difficult. I don’t think I noticed a big difference. I’m not sure how you would check the level of acid and adjust it with the sodium bisulfate.
dude, i really like your set-up.
As a "professional anodize technician" (big quotes on that one since I'm under 2 years at my company, but have my process down pat), this is the closest to a "professional" as you can get as far as home setups go, I'm highly impressed.
The book by R.H. Probert is all our shop has ever used for reference and we always nail our thickness goal (.0005- .0007 measured w/ eddy current), except we base our power supply settings by constant voltage instead of amperage. Really easy if you know what aluminum alloy you're working with specifically. And don't worry, in shops like mine I splash my parts around in the rinse tanks the same way you do!
You've got the best, and safest home setup I've seen. Kudos to you for showing the right way to do it.
Thanks! Nice to hear from someone in the industry. I’ll be upgrading my setup since I have more space at my new shop. Not sure what upgrades but I suspect it’ll just be more spread out, and in larger containers.
Excellent walk through, thanks for making it and sharing! We have a slightly larger line. We found setting a programmable power supply to 16 volts constant voltage will then automatically put the current at the exact value it needs to be.
Thanks for sharing man! Answered a bunch of questions I had...also that ice blanket thing is a slick idea!
Yep! Check my new video for a better and cheaper cooler setup.
great video, i was always concerned about disposing of used chemicals, how do you do this ?
Like the content..thanks..but with zero links to your website..on this video or even listed on any of your channel tab/ pages..I'm guessing you don't actually want new customers to order products from you.. Thanks again for the content..
I was so focused on getting the spreadsheet updated and the 3d files for the vent done that I forgot to put my own website in there! Thanks!
That was useful and creatively✨
Cameron - I’ve got a small fidget slider I’m curious if you’d be interested in anodizing… it’s a fidget slider all stainless steel that’s very near and dear to my heart. How could I contact you for more information?
Anodizing only works on aluminum, and there’s another type that’s for titanium. Stainless can be colored but only a few colors I believe. A chemical coloring. Look up caswell plating, I know they have blackening solutions.
*_Next video never came........_*
I’m a busy man lol It’s up now.
The nickel acetate got him legend has it, The guy typing above me is a fraud 🤥 😂
thanks for yours videos.
Nice video, thanks. I have been doing the for a year or so-- mainly typeIII . Something that can help if you not sure about time in the bath and currents is a thickness gauge, you can get 99% repeatability.
I knew these existed but I thought they would be prohibitively expensive! It looks like you can buy them for as little as $40 on eBay lol.
Using thermoses pretty smart. I was wondering what is good to use to get started.
Is your spray tap water or is filtered/ neutralized water?
It’s RO+DI, about 0-2ppm.
do you offer your anodizing services for other products?
I’m willing to anodize prototypes for people, but probably not batch work at this point.
When are Paragon's coming back in stock?
I just moved and still getting my new shop set up. I imagine they’ll be some tweaks to get the knives perfect since I got a new milling machine also. But I’d imagine they’ll turn out even better.
Thanks for the video! I pretty much mirrored your setup but used a low end titanium coil chiller made by vevor. Well it appears to have not worked well. Are you still using that chiller setup? Thanks!
No, I’m not! I built a new chiller that has a much higher cooling capacity! It’s cheap and easy to make, only requires 2 5 gallon buckets, 1/2” pvc hose, hose clamp, drill bits. Unlike my previous cooler, it has so much cooling capacity that the chiller water can be almost the temperature I want the bath to be. With the other chiller, it had to be ice cold to keep it at 70°. I’ll try to do a video on it very soon!
New video about it is up!
Dude! Thanks a ton! I’ll watch soon.
I was gonna buy a knife and there all sold out
Yeah, I just moved. My shop isn’t set up yet, I don’t even have a milling machine right now! New one is coming tomorrow though! Hope to be selling again in a month.
Wonderful video and fantastic finishes!
Thanks!
How much did the entire set up cost?
I bought it over a long period of time… $500-1000 probably?
Can you possibly update your parts list to include how many of each, item on the list or is it 1 of each how they are listed on amazon? Also, bucket count?
Are you rinsing with tap water or distilled water?
Deionized from my RO+DI system. It usually measures 0 ppm. When it hits 3 ppm it’s time to change the RO filter and DI resin.
@@IronForestKnives thanks for the quick reply. I realized after rewatching the video a third time that you mention the RO+DI System, and now I see it on your parts list from your google doc. I'm going to be building out a setup of my own following your blue print. Are there any changes you would make? I'm also a member of the fb diy group that's how I found you here. If you have a preferred means of communicating let me know. Thank you for all your input here and there.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
You're welcome!
Hi where i can order your handbook ?
Thanks for this great video! I've read that pre-anodizing prep with glass beads is a mistake since the beads can shatter and embed glass in the aluminum, which can then affect the ano. Have you had any issues with that? Have you tried blasting with any other materials (walnut shell, stainless steel beads, etc.)?
I do wet blasting, it’s much more gentile. The water acts as a buffer. I’ve never had glass embed. Never tried any other media other than AO which was also wet blasting. If I over blast the parts, they won’t take color as well in some areas. Haven’t figured out why yet, but I haven’t tried to find out either lol.
just started to do some anodizing and the aluminium wire that i'm using which is around 3mm thick keeps burning and disolving. the part being anodized then breaks away around an hour into the anodizing. kept the amps to minimum, around 1A and the part is around 4 square inch. Dont get it.???
4 square inches, as in the entire part surface? All sides? It honestly sounds like you have polarity backwards. Also I put 4 square inches into my calculator and it gave me .167 amps…
Hey I couldn't get the calculator to work. The link just shows values, not formulas
Hmmm… it just worked for me. I’ll explain how it works real quick. At the bottom of the current calc tab, you add your part name, then the surface area in sq. Inches of the part. Then change the part quantity to how many you’re doing. Everything else is automated. At the top it will output how many amps you should set your constant current power supply for. It’s the green square labeled “total amps”.
I noticed one of your knives had a zebra type black and white pattern, was that a masked? I have often wanted to try dual coloring.
I laser engrave my patterns post anodizing. Masking would be way too time consuming and therefore expensive.
Very enlightening, thanks! Has helped answer so many questions.
Glad it was helpful!
thank you very much for sharing this, what wire did you use? titanium welding wire?
Yes exactly. Thicker is better because it makes a stronger spring. I like 1/16”, But it depends what fits the part.
@@IronForestKnives how much votage and amps did you se to anodize all of those knife? from the video I saw you are ate 4.8v and 1.38 amps, is it correct? I thought for anodize we need minimal 12 v?
@@adityasakhakusuma2507 In my opinion… you need a constant current power supply. You can also do constant voltage but the times will be different. With CC the voltage changes throughout the cycle, it raises the voltage to meet its amperage setting as the part becomes less electrically conductive.
Did you switch from sodium bisulfate to sulfuric acid? If yes, how come?
I did! Only because there was almost no information about using it available. So it made troubleshooting difficult. I don’t think I noticed a big difference. I’m not sure how you would check the level of acid and adjust it with the sodium bisulfate.
@@IronForestKnives Do you remember what acid ratio you had when using sodium bisulfate?
@@JDesignSwe I don't remember but I looked back at my first video and it looks like it says 8.34lbs in 4 gallons of water... not sure though.