Guidelines for Anodizing

Anodizing is among our list of finishing services to give your part a clean, industrial finish. Here’s everything you need to know about designing your parts to include anodizing.

Pricing/Order Information

Anodizing will add a $9 minimum to your order with quantity discounts starting when you order more than one of an identical part.

We machine and process your parts as quickly as possible, but keep in mind that anodizing will add 7-10 business days to the processing time for your order.

For the best turnaround times, we recommend splitting any parts that require anodizing into their own separate order This allows us to process the anodized parts separately and ship your non-anodized parts as soon as they’re ready.

Materials Available

Many non-ferrous metals can be anodized, but aluminum is the best candidate and creates the most successful finish. At this time, we offer three different aluminum alloys for sulfuric anodizing:

5052 Aluminum: .063-.500″ (1.6 – 12.7mm)
6061 Aluminum: .063-.500″ (1.6 – 12.7mm)
7075 Aluminum: .125-.250″ (3.18 – 6.35mm)

Available Anodizing Colors

Black

Type II, Class II
MIL-A-8625

Clear Type II

Type II, Class II
MIL-A-8625

Blue

Type II, Class II
MIL-A-8625

Gold

Type II, Class II
MIL-A-8625

Red

Type II, Class II
MIL-A-8625

Colors may vary by batch. Click swatches to view.

Geometry Requirements

Parts need to meet certain requirements in order to be anodized successfully.

All anodized parts must be at least 1″ x 3″ to meet handling and deburring needs. The shortest dimension should be no smaller than 1″, and the whole square area of the part should be no less than 3”.

Anodized parts can be a maximum of 23” x 23”. Anodizing limits the maximum size of the part, but keep in mind that your parts also need to fit within the deburring geometry requirements. Deburring will be a preselected option on all anodized parts.

We require that all anodized parts include a hole for processing. The hole must be a minimum of .063” (1.60mm), but if your chosen material and thickness has a minimum hole size that’s larger than .063” (1.60mm), the provided hole should align with that hole size instead.

File Setup

If after reading these guidelines you’ve found you need to make some changes to your part design, check out our tutorials for designing and preparing your files in Illustrator, Inkscape, and Fusion 360.

What To Expect

Some imperfections may be visible through the anodizing
Color finishes may vary from batch to batch
Different alloys will have significantly different color finishes
Anodized 7075 aluminum parts will have duller coloring and a more pronounced difference in appearance between the face and cut edge due to the high zinc content of the material
If deburring is omitted, all imperfections will be visible and enhanced in severity
We strongly recommend utilizing our free deburring service alongside anodizing
Parts requiring welding should not be anodized
Anodizing is non-conductive
The anodizing can scratch and raw material will be visible below
Bend lines will be visible through the anodizing (die protection is not available)
Type II anodizing will add ~0.0002”-0.0009” per side to the surface of your parts

Pre-flight Checklist

Before you upload your design files, be sure to go through our pre-flight checklist:

File is in a format that we accept (2D: .dxf, .dwg, .ai, .eps; 3D: .step or .stp)
All holes and cutouts are at least 50% material thickness for laser cut parts
All holes and cutouts are no less than 0.070” for most waterjet cut parts
All holes and cutouts are no less than 0.125” for all CNC routed parts
File is built at a 1:1 scale, preferably in inch or mm units
All objects are on the same layer
All stray points, duplicate lines, empty objects and text areas have been removed
No shapes have open contours
All shapes have been united, combined or merged
All text has been converted to outlines or paths
Cut-out text (reversed text) has bridges or has been stencilized

Start your first SendCutSend project today!

Upload your CAD design or use our parts builder and get a free instant quote on your custom laser cut parts, all delivered to your door in a matter of days.

No CAD File? No Problem! Send your sketch or template to our Design Services team. Starting at $49.

We proudly use hardware by PEM

Flush stud, M8 x 1.25, .472" Zinc plus Clear Chromate

Aluminum: 5052, 6061, 7075 Steel: Mild

SKU	FH-M8-12
Thread Size	M8 x 1.25
Hole size in sheet (+0.003/-.0.000)	.315″
Minimum sheet thickness	0.094″
Maximum sheet thickness	.347″
Fastener material	Steel
Minimum distance hole C/L to edge	0.378″
Minimum distance between two of the same hardware	.567″
Recommended panel material	Steel/Aluminum
Coating type	Zinc
Length	.472″
Aluminum material ranges (5052, 6061, 7075)	0.100″-0.250″
Steel material ranges (CRS, HRPO, HR)	0.104″-0.250″

Get an Instant Quote for Waterjet Cutting

Upload a file format we accept (2D: .dxf, .dwg, .ai, .eps; 3D: .step or .stp)
Text should be converted to object and bridged where needed
All holes and cutouts should be at least 50% material thickness and no less than 0.070”
Bridging and webbing chould be at least 1:1 to material thickness
Files should only contain your parts/cut-paths
Files should not contain any intersecting lines or open contours

We proudly use hardware by PEM

Flush Standoff, 4-40, .250" Zinc plus Clear Chromate

Aluminum: 5052, 6061, 7075 Steel: Mild, G30

SKU	SO-440-8
Thread Size	4-40 x .250″
Hole size in sheet (+0.003/-.0.000)	.168″
Minimum sheet thickness	0.040″
Maximum sheet thickness	.125″
Fastener material	Steel
Minimum distance hole C/L to edge	0.230″
When determining the distance between two or more fasteners, you can calculate the distance by the formula, C/L to edge + 1/2 the diameter of the second mounting hole.	.345″
Recommended panel material	Steel/Aluminum
Coating type	Zinc
Length	.250″
Aluminum material ranges (5052, 6061, 7075)	0.040″-0.125″
Steel material ranges (CRS, HRPO, HR)	0.048″-0.119″

We proudly use hardware by PEM

Flush Standoff, 4-40, .250" Passivated

Stainless Steel: 304, 316

SKU	SO4-440-8
Thread Size	440
Hole size in sheet (+0.003/-.0.000)	.166″
Minimum sheet thickness	0.04″
Maximum sheet thickness	.125″
Fastener material	400 Stainless Steel
Minimum distance hole C/L to edge	0.230″
When determining the distance between two or more fasteners, you can calculate the distance by the formula, C/L to edge + 1/2 the diameter of the second mounting hole. Example shown with x2 of the same hardware.	.313″
Recommended panel material	Stainless Steel
Coating type	Passivated
Length	.250″
304 Stainless Steel material ranges	0.048″-0.125″
316 Stainless Steel material ranges	0.060″-0.125″

Guidelines for Anodizing

Anodizing is among our list of finishing services to give your part a clean, industrial finish. Here’s everything you need to know about designing your parts to include anodizing.

Table of Contents

Pricing/Order Information

Anodizing will add a $9 minimum to your order with quantity discounts starting when you order more than one of an identical part.

Materials Available

Available Anodizing Colors

Black

Clear Type II

Clear Type III

Blue

Gold

Red

Geometry Requirements

Parts need to meet certain requirements in order to be anodized successfully.

File Setup

If after reading these guidelines you’ve found you need to make some changes to your part design, check out our tutorials for designing and preparing your files in Illustrator, Inkscape, and Fusion 360.

What To Expect

Pre-flight Checklist

Start your first SendCutSend project today!

Upload your CAD design or use our parts builder and get a free instant quote on your custom laser cut parts, all delivered to your door in a matter of days.

View More Guidelines

Laser Cutting

CNC Machining

Waterjet Cutting

Anodizing

Bending

Countersinking

Design Services

Hardware

Plating

Powder Coating

Tapping

Tumbling

Drill Size Reference Chart

Flush Standoff, 4-40, .250" Zinc plus Clear Chromate

Flush Standoff, 4-40, .250" Passivated