Anodizing

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Actually, anodizing does ever so slightly increase the dimension of the part. I couldn't see the effect being anything more than negligible in a FIRST robot though. From what I recall, anodizing adds about 0.0002 inch, whereas powder coating can add up to 0.020" I've never actually measured it.

While this theoretically is true, there has been instances for us in the past where we have made parts to very tight tolerances (+/- .001") and then anodized them only to find they no longer fit together. We make sure to anodize parts and then remachine them if they require a tight tolerance (such as a press fit for a bearing)

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

While this theoretically is true, there has been instances for us in the past where we have made parts to very tight tolerances (+/- .001") and then anodized them only to find they no longer fit together. We make sure to anodize parts and then remachine them if they require a tight tolerance (such as a press fit for a bearing)

I agree, this is sometimes an issue.

Another thing to note is there are different types of anodizing. Some hard anodizing processes can add a thickness which must certainly be accounted for.