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Anodizing equipment for low volume inventor/prototype maker

I like to make parts out of aluminum in my garage on a CNC mill and was interested if small volume anodizing equipment exists that I could buy. Is this a very complicated process that I need to "desist" from and should defer to the pros, or, as I envision, could I get a small "bath" to do this. The main purpose of the anodizing is decorative and corrosion resistance.

Appreciate any leads,

Peter Kaufer
hobbyist - Menlo Park, California, USA
2003

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You can use 12 V/5A car battery charger ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ,some lead sheet for cathode and 230 ml H2SO4 + 1 lit water electrolyte, Min 10 min. anodizing. Only for grease and oxide-free objects! Aluminum connecting wires!

Goran Budija
- Zagreb ,Croatia
2003

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Peter, the short answer is yes, you can buy partial (not turn key) systems for a couple of hundred dollars from several sources that cater to hobbyists. I have similar requirements, although mine lie more in the electrical insulating properties of anodizing. A product I have been designing for about a year now, relies heavily upon anodizing, and I had to make the decision about 6 months ago whether to farm it out or learn to make it myself. I rationalized that I should learn the basic process for myself by actually doing it. If the prototypes did well and we were confident enough to go to production then I would enlist commercial shops whose business is 100% anodizing. Six months later I still am not sure I made the right decision. I do know I am much more competent in specifying what I need. If you do an internet search, in about four hours you will accumulate enough free information to keep you busy for months. Much of the information is conflicting, and tends to over-simplify. I did purchase one book, but it really just gave me hardcopy of information I already had. It is not just a matter of hooking up a battery charger ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to a tub of battery acid ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . I started that way, but got interested in optimizing the process, and it has grown into the proverbial elephant. Safety is a very big issue. Storage of chemicals has grown into more square feet than I had planned. Ventilation is so important that it dominates my whole shop. The power supplies I am into now are definitely lethal. The clothes I wear are determined as to whether I am going to do an anodizing run that day. I think it boils down to how interesting you find the subject. If you want instant salable product I wouldn't mess with doing it yourself. If you want to invest hundreds of hours to try to learn to do it right, it is a very interesting business. Bill

William F Herzog
Amplifiers - Rogue River Oregon USA
2003