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Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

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Conductance of Gold Anodized Aluminum Chassis

I have had .060" aluminum electronic chassis anodized Gold. I use the chassis as a ground and I am trying to determine if I need to remove the anodizing where I want to connect to a solid ground point. What is the conductance of the anodized layer compared to the Aluminum? Does the anodizing act as an insulator? Do I need to remove the anodizing where I connect to ground?

Thank you,

Stephen Cohrs
Trinty Amps - Tube Amplifiers - Toronto, ON, Canada
2005

Anodizing is a very good insulator; you definitely have to remove it. Ideally you would chromate conversion coat that area rather than leave it bare.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005

One possibility is to put a star washer on both sides and tighten it well. If the anodize is not too thick, it will crush thru it and give a decent ground. Can be checked with an ohm meter from bolt to an unanodized place on the part (contact point).

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2005

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