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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

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What is Symcoat HCT?

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RECOMMENDED ANODIZING & CHROMATING BOOKS
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"The Surface Treatment & Finishing of Aluminium and Its Alloys" by Wernick, Pinner & Sheasby (1959 - 2001)
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"The Metallurgy of Anodizing Aluminum" by Jude Mary Runge (2018)
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"Surface Treatment and Finishing of Aluminum" by Robert King (1988)
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"Anodic Oxidation of Aluminum and Its Alloys" by V. F. Henley (1982)
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"Aluminum Finishes Process Manual" by Reynolds Aluminum (1973)
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Q. Hello all,

I have a bit of a problem. My company has acquired another company from the west coast, and I'm in the middle of re-working one of these new products. One of the parts that need reworking has a finish spec which I'm not familiar with, and neither are my vendors.

The finish spec. reads:
BEAD BLAST (QUARTZ - 170AC - 40 PSI) TO REMOVE MACHINING MARKS, PLUG ALL HOLES, CLEAR COAT ANODIZE TYPE II, STRIP FINISH, APPLY SYMCOAT HCT CLASS 1; .001 THICKNESS COLOR GRAY

I understand everything but the "SYMCOAT HCT". I've tried web searches and Thomas Register.....all come up blank. I've even tried a different spelling (SIMCOTE) and came up with Simcote Inc. out of MN. They supply "Fusion bonded Epoxy Coated Steel. So, my question is....am I on the right track? My vendors do not want to quote these parts because they do not want to contaminate their machinery, but I really need these parts reworked.

Help!

Andy Mckenna
Design Engineer - Holliston, Massachusetts
2004

A. We have used the Symcoat HCT process on several occasions. Basically it's an impregnated Hard Coat Teflon where half of the coating thickness is impregnated into the surface of the part and the other half adds to the overall part size. You need to check with the vendor for specifics on controlling tight tolerances. The vendor we use is Symcoat Metal Processing Inc. in San Diego CA.

John Moomey
- Eugene, OR, USA

A. Thanks, John. To avoid possibly confusing future readers, though, I'll point out that all aluminum anodizing processes exhibit that same quality where about half of the finish thickness is incorporated into the substrate and half adds to the thickness. It's because the aluminum oxide that is formed occupies about twice as much volume as the aluminum metal that is consumed in the process.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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