Sodium Dichromate

eac67gt

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  1. eac67gt - 03-13-13, 08:19 AM
    I just made some new tooling for the lathe and am in the process of anodizing it. Once in the recent past I made a set of clamps for the mill and anodized them. To make these a bit tougher I run them in the anodizing tank over night which builds a nice thick layer on it than I bathe it in a solution of distilled water, sodium dichromate and a little black dye for color. The sodium dichromate is suppose to make the anodizing tougher in the respect that it is more chemically resistant. Does it help in the shop? I am really not sure but I know the clamps I have made have taken quite a beating and show no wear. The military specs show that dichromate's are used often in their requirements for such things as landing gear. Now I know the tools are not landing gear but what the heck. I am just experimenting / hobbying and I want to see what the results are. In some ways this is the only way I will really find out.
    The sodium dichromate usually, from what I read, is what they use to seal the anodizing layer other than boiling. I run it in this bath for 30 minutes than go to boiling also. This insures me that I have truly sealed the anodizing layer. Call me crazy.

    Ed​
 
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isn't there a max in layer thickness i left some parts cooking in the tank for hours but after a sertain time
the layer becomes an insulator and you can not get current flow anymore .
 
I believe I saw that somewhere but I was running for 12 hours straight and was still pulling current. I not sure if there is a difference when it comes to solutions used in tank. I will have to look into the layer thing and see what I find. Starting to take notes or coping some stuff I might have to start doing because due to my brain issues it is hard to retain a lot I read. Also in this factor is math issues and that is why I shoot from the hip in a lot of the anodizing calculations. As before I am just a hobbyist not a professional but I am trying to work through all this anodizing and plating stuff for fun and to help others out with there hobbying. I do love to do it though. Anyway getting off track here a bit. I will look into your questions and see what I can come up with.

Have a great day!

Ed
 
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