Services
Surface Finishing & Assembly
Blasting, anodising, painting, plating, screen printing, laser marking and assembly — specified against your cosmetic and functional standard, with affected dimensions re-checked afterwards.
Finishing is often treated as something bolted on after machining, but it changes three things at once: appearance, corrosion resistance and dimension. Hard anodising can add tens of microns per side — an H7 bore is no longer H7 once it comes out of the tank.
We plan finishing as part of the process, not after it: which faces get masked, which dimensions carry stock, which features get re-measured afterwards. All decided at drawing review, rather than discovered when the part will not assemble.
Capabilities
- Metal finishing
- Blasting, anodising (clear, black, colour, hard), chromate conversion, plating, black oxide, passivation, brushing, polishing
- Plastic finishing
- Painting (matt, satin, gloss), clear coat, texturing, polishing, vacuum metallising
- Marking
- Screen printing, pad printing, laser marking, UV printing
- Assembly
- Self-clinching hardware, heat-set inserts, bonding, ultrasonic welding, full assembly and packing
Solutions
Finished cosmetic parts
Colour, particle and gloss controlled against an approved sample, delivered ready to use.
Functional surfaces
Hard anodising for wear, conversion coating for earthing continuity, nickel plating for corrosion — process chosen by function.
Product marking and serialisation
Laser-marked serial numbers, QR codes and regulatory marks, including variable data.
Sub-assemblies and complete units
Multiple parts built into a delivered assembly, so you receive one item rather than a kit to integrate.
Process Overview
Finishing falls into three families: changing the surface topography (blasting, brushing, polishing), adding or growing a coating (anodising, plating, painting), and marking (printing, laser).
What matters is that coatings have thickness. An anodic film grows roughly half inward and half outward — hard anodising can add 0.02–0.05 mm in total. Paint adds 0.05–0.15 mm per face. Plating depends on specified thickness. So mating features either get masked or get machined with stock allowed.
Metals
Aluminium
blasting plus clear, black, colour or hard anodising, chromate conversion
Stainless steel
brushing, blasting, mirror polishing, passivation
Carbon steel
black oxide, phosphating, zinc plating, powder coating
Copper and brass
nickel, chrome, polishing, protective lacquer
Plastics
Plastics
painting, clear coat, screen printing, vacuum metallising
Surface Finishes
Bead blasting 80#–240#
Clear, black and colour anodising
Hard anodising
Chromate and chrome-free conversion coating
Nickel, chrome and zinc plating
Black oxide and phosphating
Powder and wet painting
Brushing and polishing
Screen, pad and laser marking
Tolerances & Size Limits
- Standard anodising
- Film 5–15 μm; per-side growth roughly half the film thickness
- Hard anodising
- Film 25–50 μm; significant per-side growth — mask mating faces or allow stock
- Paint
- 0.05–0.15 mm per coated face including primer and topcoat
- Plating
- Per specified thickness, commonly 5–20 μm
- Colour consistency
- Judged against the approved sample within a batch; anodised colour varies between batches — agree the acceptance standard in advance
Design Guide (DFM)
Mark the faces that stay bare
Mating, conductive and sealing surfaces usually need masking — call them out on the drawing.
Allow stock on fitted bores
Where a fitted bore is anodised, either machine it with stock and ream after, or mask it.
Keep an earthing point conductive
Anodic film is an insulator. Specify conversion coating or bare metal wherever earthing continuity is required.
Be realistic about colour variation
Anodised parts vary slightly between tank loads. For important cosmetic parts, run the whole quantity together and agree an acceptance standard.
Laser mark contrast
Contrast depends heavily on material and surface state — strong on anodised parts, weak on bare aluminium. Sample it first.
Quality Control
- 01
Masking plan confirmed before processing
- 02
Appearance judged against the approved sample for colour, particles, runs and thin coverage
- 03
Film thickness sampling where specified
- 04
Re-check of affected mating dimensions after processing
- 05
Function and appearance verification after assembly
Need surface finishing & assembly? Send the drawing to an engineer.
First reply within 30 minutes during working hours (4 working hours at the latest); full quote and DFM feedback typically within 12 working hours.