Month: February 2025

東京の高級時計メーカー、土壌のフィレンツェオフィチーネ・パネライ2016東京デザインウィーク展示Sliceオブ「Time」は、この特定の場所に応じて発想の装置を芸術作品はnendoスタジオデザイン、霊感および時間の概念と時間とデザインの間のやりとり。装置はじゅう月にじゅう～23日、表参道Spiralガーデンの世界初展に出展、訪問者が敷いてこの命あれば水母さえ骨にあうの機会、細かに味わうオフィチーネ・パネライ時計から生まれ経典設計の独特な時計装置を受け、「時間の贈り物。

nendo発想の「SliceオブTime」コンセプトデザイナーを作るように先に「抜け殻の時計」は、設計メタオフィチーネ・パネライブランドの精髄であり、単一の筆画の数字に標とエレガントなケース描き出して文字盤形、そして透過金型技術をみつけてから時計じゅうごメートル、施設計師は「年齢」と客の転換「ミリ」に、また人手を「抜け殻時計」千切る、「時計」カット割相応の厚さ、訪問者は家の中を持ち帰って収蔵。時計のように徐々に成形プロセス歯車とつながり、展场部分空間をもどれ作リング型スタジオを訪問し、研磨、噴砂や組立てなど工程を待って、訪問者約ご分作る時計。細長い形「抜け殻」よんしよ時計に従って展示で日ほど切って短く、時計が消えたら、展示終瞭の日。言い換えれば、「抜け殻時計」まるで砂時計は、あなたにはっきりの装置を通して気づいて時が過ぎて、「時間」「長さ約」（「単位」の概念を販売時間）、人々感じて時間も、「自分の時間」を取り戻す。

オフィチーネ・パネライクラシカルデザイン
オフィチーネ・パネライ時計デザインでして、高級時計業界ナンバーワンの仲間から。オフィチーネ・パネライ早く1930やよんじゅう年代を設計して、海軍水底軍事用腕時計。腕時計が丈夫で長持ち、1つの細かい点はすべて心を込めて推敲して、腕時計の必要とする機能を発揮する。オフィチーネ・パネライ時計ラインシンプルデザインで知られる落ち着いた、経典国際高級タブ界。長年に積極的に各支持オフィチーネ・パネライスポンサー設計文化の計画は、ブランドの優秀なデザインをたたえ、多くの国際協力企画などが登場し、とミラノトリエンナーレ設計博物館（Triennale Designミュージアム）合弁の「O」Clock」展覧、とスペイン施設計師のパトリシア？Urquiola協力構想の小売店のデザインコンセプトを冠スポンサーのイベント、マイアミDesign Miami（アメリカ）とロンドン設計節（イギリス）。オフィチーネ・パネライ承諾から絶大続けるとして普及の設計、打ち立て国際傑出設計者の地位。

http://copy2017.com/

繊細で地味で、极简純粋：Slim d」Hermèsシリーズを新しいエルメス自制プラチナの腕時計。
Slim d」Hermèsプラチナ万年暦腕時計のシンプルデザイン全靑今注目を集めて。スリムシリーズ専用時間尺度フォントしなやか優雅。デザイン文字盤に日付を、月、暮らすときや閏年指示さん時位置の月相ウィンドウガラス採用砂金石空を背景に、「懸」珍真珠貝月飾り。気質優雅、手軽に読みやすい文字盤と珍しいプラチナケースをなす。
エルメス自制H1950薄型ムーブメント高級タブの完璧な技術を見せ、搭載した高級タブ技術分野で最も過大な要求の複雑な機能の一つ「万年暦」機能。信頼性の高い「機械記憶」技術を保障カレンダー毎月自動調節さんじゅうまたは31日の長さを両立させて、同時に4年がうるう年が一度の2月29日に、全体のカレンダー機能の必要がない手動校正。また、この飾りがアルファベット「H」の装飾を経て手作り面取り微細加工のムーブメントは昼/夜、暮らすときや月相指示機能が、その全体の厚さはよんしよミリ。サファイア水晶の時計の底蓋蓋を通して、この美しいムーブメントのすべての技術の細部を鑑賞することができます。

エルメスはこの新しいスリムプラチナ万年暦腕時計に集積した様々な腕時計の制作技術。かすかな光が咲くのケースを搭載した複雑な機能の完璧な機械、また見せた制作ケースと文字盤の職人たちの好プレー、深い水鰐皮のバンドは、申し分ない革を整個時計工芸デザイン画に円満な句。

http://copy2017.com/list/32

タイプエルメス自制H195自動的に薄型ムーブメント
モジュールAgenhor
直径30ミリ（13 1 / 4法分）
厚さ６ミリ（ムーブメント）+ 1１ミリ（モジュール）
動力備蓄42時間
宝石は29粒（ムーブメント）＋3個（モジュール）
スイング毎時間21600回/さんヘルツ
手面とり面とりには字母「エッチ」の飾り板がある
独特の特色のある真珠陀
機能に、分、月、第二のタイムゾーン、昼/夜の指示を受け、万年暦
ケース
丸い形/サイズ、直径39 . 5ミリ
素材のプラチナ
水晶のグレア時計の鏡と底蓋
防水30メートル防水
文字盤ブルー、シルバー調ょりアラビア数字時間尺度
バンド
珍真珠貝の月、砂金石ガラスの空を
奥行きは海の靑いワニ皮

http://copy2017.com/

In this post, you will find more phrases often used by Drupal programmers. Familiarise yourself with this and the other texts in the series in order to work more effectively with the development team.

The most commonly used phrases related to Drupal

Other articles of this series can be found here:

• Phrases that you need to understand when talking to a Drupal developer: Node

Field

In short: Fields in Drupal are attributes assigned to the data type, e.g. tags in articles or the amount of remuneration in a job offer.

More detailed explanation

Node Types are created in the administration panel on the subpage /admin/structure/types. You can also edit the already existing content types there. One of the edit options is “Manage Fields”.  

The Fields are assigned to Entities – a Node entity in this case (explanation of the word [Node]). One field means one additional element on the content adding form (there are exceptions, but they are rare). 

If you want to have a form for adding job offers, and in it – the option to enter the amount of remuneration, add a new field. If you want to add products on a website and provide PDF instructions together with a product description, add a field, etc. 

Below are examples of the data structure of several types of content from the previous article.

Article:

• Title,
• Introduction,
• Content,
• Main photo,
• Category.

Job offer:

• Position name,
• Duties description,
• Requirements,
• Location,
• Remuneration,
• Number of vacancies.

Each of the elements listed above is a separate field.

Field types in Drupal

Fields can have types. In this case, the list is exhaustive and defined by the Drupal core or additional modules. The most commonly used field types are:

• Single-line text field,
• Multiline text field.
• Field with a list (e.g. select one element from the 20 defined),
• Field with a reference (the content types can be combined, e.g. a Job offer may have references to the “Company facility” content type),
• Field for uploading a photo,
• Field for uploading any type of file,
• Link,
• E-mail,
• Phone.

A programmer can write a module that defines a new field type. He can also install one of the additional modules defining a new field type, e.g. Address Field.

Knowing the field types and knowing that you have the ability to create many types of content, you can plan the structure for the data that you want to present on the website. By using these terms, you can quickly set out the details with the programmer. 

Regions and Blocks

A block is a fragment of a page that may be used repeatedly within a single subpage or on many subpages. A block is usually a small part of a page presenting text or graphics. I will provide some examples in order to illustrate what can be a Drupal block:

• Menu,
• Search engine form,
• Social media icons,
• Form for logging in,
• Last 3-5 pieces of content of a given type,
• Banners redirecting to other areas of the website,
• Form for subscribing to a newsletter.

Every subpage in Drupal consists of the following elements:

• content – i.e. what is in the centre of the screen,
• blocks – i.e. what is usually above the content, below the content and next to the content (in a column or two columns, depending on the layout of the page).

Sometimes there are other elements but let us assume that in our ideal situation there are only content and blocks on the subpage. 

Bocks are placed within so-called regions. Regions are places on a page with a specific location, e.g. a footer. Within a single region, you can insert one or more blocks, e.g. in the footer, you can insert a block with the menu and a block with social media icons. 

Most often, the subpages are built so that the blocks in the Header and Footer regions are the same on all subpages. This is the rule for most [corporate websites]. Only their content changes. Depending on the website, it is just the content, extending to 100% of the page width, or the content and columns (e.g. 67% for the content and 33% for one column). 

When talking with a Drupal programmer about the layout of elements on a given subpage, you will probably hear about blocks and regions quite often. Now you know what do these words mean.

Summary 

It is a second article of the series. From these two articles you already know what a Node, Field, Block and Region are. When you have such knowledge, talking with a Drupal developers’ team should be much easier.

If you have not seen the previous articles of the series yet, you can find them here:

• Phrases that you need to understand when talking to a Drupal developer: Node

Basic Info.

Model NO.
BBSOFLB-001A

Material
Polyester

Age Group
Adults

Feature
Anti-Pilling, Portable, Disposable

Type
Solid Flannel Blanket

Knitting Method
Machine Weaved

Pattern
Printing Pattern

Usage
Home, Travel, Airplane, Picnic, Hospital

Transport Package
PVC Bag, PE Bag, Bandroll, Flat Packing with Inlay

Specification
150*200cm

Trademark
Available

Origin
Tongxiang, China

HS Code
6301400000

Production Capacity
2000 Pieces/Day

Product Description

2021 Super Soft Children Flannel Throw Blanket Cheap Baby Blanket Baby Swaddle Blanket

 

Item Name Flannel Fleece Blanket & Throw Material 100%Polyester Size TWIN, QUEEN, KING, OR Customized Weight 180-400gsm Color Solid, customized color and pattern Main Market Westen Europe, North American Sample lead time 3-5 days Features

All season

High Warmth Retention

Good choice for gifts, promotional program and home or outdoor using

Packaging Ribbon with brand card/ custom gift bag/ PVC bag or design Delivery time 30-45 days after confirmed the sample More item Please contact sales man for catalogue, or provide us with you own design.

   In the brick machine industry, QGM always plays an important role in every Canton Fair with his high quality equipment, leading technology and excellent service!　　

In April 2018, the 123rd Canton Fair will be held in Guangzhou, coinciding with the 65th anniversary of ZENITH, the new equipment, new block product upgrade technology and global service system will bring you extraordinary experience.

In the last 65 years, QGM Group always remains true to his original aspiration and focuses on the R&D and manufacturing of brick machine, with ZENITH becoming one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of pallet-free brick machine. The star products ZENITH 940 and ZENITH 1500 from Germany are deeply loved by customers at home andabroad.

QGM with ZENITH sincerely invite you to visit our booth indoor A: 1.1 L18-20, outdoor: 5.0 B17-20!

outdoor:5.0 B17-20

 

 

 

 

 

indoorA: 1.1 L18-20

 

 

 

セイコーGSだサラリーマン愛用の通勤ブランドの一つで、基礎の表の基本を数万元で、たまには数十万の、たとえばRef . SBGD001のオファーはガンダムの35、ろく万元。一見普通のGSようとたいして違わない（結局何GSあまり似ている）を持って、このDriveスプリングのはち日チェーンに何の長所？

http://www.copy2017.com/list/167

まず、それは首発は日本で部長の長野県塩尻市のセイコーマイクロ芸術工房（Microアーティストスタジオ）制造のGS腕時計、この部門を聞いて何でもない、中が詰まった一票タブキャリアの豊富な職人組立技術設計からムーブメントにまとまるまとまるの徴服した世界の時計ファンには、いつもややもすれば出産クレドール（セイコーのハイエンド製品ライン）スプリングDrive３問です；自鸣よ。また薄型Eichi II何の技術は複雑な要求の表。

http://www.copy2017.com/list/168

不成文の恒例によって、私たちは先に「淺」の外に見てみると。GSのすべての時計外観もして、品質もかなり完璧：運用もっぱら日本刀で使うzaratsu技術はプラチナケースを鏡面仕上げ、聴いていても珍しい、効果も確かにして；もし初雪のようにきらめくスクラブ文字盤は運用されdiamondセイコーと呼ばれるなど（ダイヤモンドダスト）の特殊工芸;結合GSのシンボル的な鋭い指針の要素は、急速に鮮明な個性を強調。

ムーブメントといえば、絶対この表の最大の見どころは、伝統的な意味での腕時計かかあるいは電子機械に適応し、スプリングDrive 9R01は機械と石英融合で逃げ機関の運営がさらに向上した滑らかで、より精度、月誤差制御制は±じゅう秒以内；同時に保障はち日の動力の準備を使用したCal.9R01わざわざさん重並列バネ箱、表背点で動く貯蔵施設さん表示盤、307枚モジュールは、56のルビーひゃくメートル防水。http://www.copy2017.com/list/39

大半の情況の下で美しいため、ムーブメントに自信のあるブランドのほうが喜んでいて背透、SBGD001のムーブメントに見える……本当に蜜ハートプラグは、それは良いムーブメントが、ムーブメントの堅牢度を高めるために、安全性、セイコーわざわざ入れた一体板、サンドイッチのように、中のコンポーネントは包んでくれた。その一体化添え木は形のない困難度を高め、勝手にしましょう……君は嬉しいと、何とか小穴から小穴を通してのぞき見ていた。

また、9時までに1点位に伸びる形になっているという人は、富士山に似ているという人もいるらしいですね！確かに少しでも、またたくさん見て：靑鋼ネジベアリング、ルビー、黄金ソケット、銀灰色添え木を配合して上に黒のテキスト、もおもしろい。ただ、どのサラリーマンが、簡単にこの値段を受け入れて、考えたり、考えたり。

http://www.copy2017.com/

Product Description

QT5-15 Fully Automatic Concrete Cement Brick Hollow Block Making Machine

Siemens brand PLC control system / Siemens motor / Omron switch/ International standard steel

QT5-15 block making machine is the latest developed equipment product, which is special purpose equipment for making building block making machine. The material can be fly ash, slag, gangue or other industrial waste, river sand, gravel, cement, etc. Make different sizes of hollow blocks, porous blocks, curbs, pavement blocks. If you add a color machine, you can make layer blocks.
QT5-15 block machine full automatic ,adopts Siemens brand PLC and Touch Screen .Vibrate motors also Siemens brand. So our machine runs stable and effective . Our machine makes the blocks with very good density and high quality. I am sure you will satisfied with it.

Technical specifications
Overall Dimension	5120*1950*2810mm
Cycle Time	15-25s
Total Power	26.5KW
Pallet Size	1100*550mm
Raw Materials	Crushed stone, sand, cement, dust and coal fly ash, cinder, slag, ganaue, gravel, perlite and other industrial wastes.
Applied Products	Concrete blocks, solid/hollow/cellular masonry products, paving stones with or without face mix, garden and landscaping products, slabs, edgers, kerbstones, grass block, slope blocks, interlocking blocks, etc.
Applied fields	Widely used in buildings, road pavings, squares, gardens, landscaping, city constructions, etc.

Product Advantages

 

Our Customer

If you interested in our block machine, please feel free to contact me.

In July 2018, the United States introduced a series of new tariffs on goods being imported from China. How will these new tariffs affect you if you are importing goods from China into the US? There is still much uncertainty around this subject and the situation is continuing to unfold however here are the main points you need to know.

What Products Are Affected by the New Tariffs?

There are currently more than 800 Harmonised System (HS) codes affected. HS codes form the international system for declaring goods for import/export in virtually every possible commercial category. These code numbers are routinely used for determining the appropriate duty applied to those goods.

Currently there are a broad range of products and components that have been impacted. These include diagnostic and scientific equipment, automotive parts and assemblies, aerospace components and more. The United States Trade Representative’s office has published a complete list of the HS codes affected by these new tariffs. We recommend you review this list to see if your product has been affected by the tariffs.

For items exported to the United States from China, a duty of 25% is being levied on products falling into the listed categories. This is in addition to any tariffs that may already be in place on some items. The overall size of the tariffs, so far, is relatively small compared the total trade between China and the United States.

How do the Tariffs Impact Products That Come From Star Rapid?

Most of our customers have not been impacted by the new tariffs since they don’t currently apply to the prototyping we do, so for Star Rapid it is business as usual. If your product from Star Rapid is a prototype, or is a component that will go into a prototype, then the good news is that it’s unlikely to be affected by tariffs which are meant to apply only to goods of a commercial value.

The tariffs may affect some of the products that we make if they are finished goods or parts of a larger assembly. This is one reason we recommend that all customers carefully review the HS codes they use to ensure they’re being applied correctly. If you’re unsure whether your product qualifies as a duty-free import, it’s best to confirm with your logistics partner or freight forwarder. If you plan to do business with us, or if you are already a customer, we are happy to work with you to review HS codes if there is any uncertainty.

How Will These Tariffs Affect Your Business With Star Rapid in the Future?

We are pleased that very few of our customers have been impacted by tariffs so far due to the prototyping nature of our business and the research and development we do. In fact, the lack of impact on prototyping has caused an increase in demand. As always, we will continue to work with the few customers who have been impacted to ensure the success of their project.

We encourage you to continue to monitor the situation by reviewing resources such as the website for the office of the US Trade Representative. If you have any questions or concerns about the impact of tariffs on your project feel free to contact us for more details.

Time to read: 3 min

Before the 2016 Bay Area Maker Faire, my inner-child set out on a goal to re-live the freedom I felt when I got my first car—a 25lb plastic, electric blue, Power Wheels Jeep.

Those of you who have attended the Bay Area Maker Faire may have seen the awesome PPPRS races. PPPRS stands for Pow-Pow Power Racing Series—a fun/competitive racing circuit for makers, builders, and hardware enthusiasts that challenges teams to take those children’s Power Wheel toys meant for children, and hack them until grown adults are squeezing in to fly around a track at 20+ MPH.

The result is a race that showcases great engineering and creativity, mixed in with a whole lot of road rage.

Fictiv readers may recall the teardown we did of the Rastar Lamborghini Aventador a little while back. Since then, the body of the Lamborghini has been collecting dust in our office just waiting for a good project. The stars aligned!

To get started, I reached out to San Francisco based product development consultancy, Mindtribe, hoping their engineers would donate some time and build space to help make it happen. Luckily for me, they jumped on board before I even had a chance to get into my sales pitch.

Jerry Ryle, VP of Engineering at Mindtribe, helped organize a group of 8 engineers, and I quickly threw a schedule together. We had four weeks and no time to waste.

Primary Race Rules

Here’s the low-down on race rules:

1. Must be battery powered—no more than 36v
2. Car build can cost no more than $500 (some exceptions)
3. Car must go from top speed to full stop in less than 18’
4. Vehicle must be smaller than 62” long and 36” wide
5. Must have padded front and rear bumpers 4 to 6 inches off the ground

You can see the full set of race rules here.

Project Kickoff & PRD

Before we started anything, it was important to align on project goals. With just 4 weeks before race weekend and only having access to a build space for a few hours a week, we needed to prioritize what was critical to the success of our Power Wheels racing car and set realistic expectations for how it would perform.

To do this, we started a rough Product Requirements Document (PRD), which outlined all the agreed-upon features and served as our guiding source of truth as we encountered forks in the road.

Essentially, all decisions we made from this point forward would need to work toward the features established in the PRD.

Since we were working with such a short timeline, we all agreed that we wouldn’t be able to design and weld a new frame. This meant we needed to source an existing frame that could be heavy, forcing us to improve other areas of the car that would mitigate the added weight. After a long brainstorming session (and lots of googling), we decided on these features:

1. Acceleration is more important than top speed
2. 48” turning radius
3. Batteries must last 40 minutes before replacing
4. Batteries must take less than 1 minute to change
5. Car must stop within 18’

What’s Next?

Since we were running on a tight deadline and a tight budget, purchasing the right components the first time was critical. The PRD allowed us to break into teams and have each team take on the responsibility of researching, calculating and choosing the right components for different systems of the car. In our case, we divided into three teams that were each responsible for the drivetrain, steering, and braking systems.

We knew we’d need to push hard to test everything before the big race and leave enough time to choose the perfect moxie-point-worthy race outfits.

In the next post in the series, we share some tips on sourcing the right components (including some helpful calculators that can be applied to a variety of engineering problems), challenges we ran into during the build, and how we let our hacker spirits out for some creative problem solving.

Regardless of how good a finished component is, a quality metal surface finish will make it better. Surface finishing is an essential process in metal component manufacturing. The right surface finish ensures that a metal part looks better and lasts longer.

However, there are several types of metal finishes available for metals. Therefore, it is important to understand the details of the many finishes available. Not knowing the right finishing technique for a project can cause material wastage, increased cycle time, and hiked manufacturing costs.

This guide will give you the details of the various metal finishing techniques available. This will help you avoid undesirable manufacturing results and improve the quality of your products. Let’s get into it!

Contents
hide

I
Surface Finish Basics: What Is Surface Finishing?

II
Why Is Surface Finishing Important for Metals?

III
Types of Metal Surface Finishes

IV
Choosing a Metal Surface Finishing Process: Factors to Consider

V
Conclusion

Surface Finish Basics: What Is Surface Finishing?

Surface finishing is an umbrella term for various processes used in altering metal surfaces by removing, adding, or reshaping. It is a protective chemical, mechanical, or electrical process that helps to improve the aesthetics, strength, and other properties of metal components.

The unique result of a finishing process will depend on the method chosen. Depending on your needs, you may select one or a combination of finishes for metals to achieve the ideal product quality.

Why Is Surface Finishing Important for Metals?

Surface finishing can be both beneficial to the end-user and the manufacturer. Generally, a quality surface finish makes the final product look better and last longer. Therefore, the end-user gets to enjoy using the product more.

Likewise, some surface finishing procedures make manufacturing processes easier. For example, brushing a metal’s surface before painting will increase the adhesion of the metal to the paint. This enables the manufacturer to get a top-quality surface finish easier.

Some of the several benefits of surface finishing processes include the following:

• Increased durability
• Increased corrosion resistance
• Elimination of surface defects
• Helps with the adhesion of paint and other coatings
• Enhanced aesthetic appearance
• Increased chemical resistance
• Improved electrical conductivity
• High strength and wear resistance

Types of Metal Surface Finishes

There are several surface finishing types available, each with its unique advantages. The kind of project and your material choice will determine the type of finishing you will adopt. Below are some of the common metal surface finishes available:

Plating or Conversion Coatings

Metal plating involves altering the surfaces of substrates by coating them with thin layers of other metals like zinc, nickel, chromium, or cadmium. Metal plating works to improve a component’s durability, surface friction, corrosion resistance, and aesthetic appearance. However, plating machines may not be well suited for removing surface defects.

There are two major plating types:

• Electroplating. This process works by submerging the component in a bath containing metal ions for coating. A direct current is then applied to the metal to cause the ions to be deposited on the metal part, leaving a new layer over the surfaces.
• Electroless Plating. This method involves no electric current as it is an autocatalytic plating with no external power supplied. Rather, the metal part is placed in solutions filled with copper or nickel to create a reaction that breaks up the metal ions.

These processes leave a last-longing finish on metal and can also be a means of repairing and maintaining worn-out components. They impart hardness to metal parts and increase their corrosion resistance, making them useful for several applications.

Plating is often a large-scale and chemically intensive process. Therefore, it is carried out by skilled and experienced technicians.

Anodizing

This electrochemical process helps create a durable, decorative, and corrosion-resistant anodic oxide finish. Manufacturers carry out this finish by immersing the metal in an acid electrolyte bath before making an electric current pass through the medium. The aluminum acts as the anode while a cathode is mounted inside the anodizing tank.

Consequently, the oxygen ions released from the electrolyte combine with the aluminum atoms to form an anodic oxide on the surface of the workpiece. Therefore, anodizing is a highly controlled oxidation of the metal substrate. It is mostly useful for finishing aluminum parts but is also effective for nonferrous metals like magnesium and titanium.

Metal Grinding

Manufacturers use grinding machines to smoothen out metal surfaces with the aid of adhesives. It is one of the final steps in machining, helping to reduce the surface roughness left on the metal from machining. There are several grinding machines available to deliver various levels of smoothness.

Surface grinders are the most common machines available. However, many other specialty grinders like Blanchard grinders and centerless grinders exist. A precision Blanchard grinder is widely used for large parts. On the other hand, die grinders help with details works, using special-shaped abrasive wheels.

Polishing/Buffing

In these processes, abrasives help reduce the surface roughness of metals after machining. These abrasive powders are combined with felt or leather wheels to polish and buff metal surfaces as required.

Manufacturers can carry out metal polishing either manually or automatically (with robotic polishing). Asides from reducing the material’s surface roughness, polishing also increases the metal’s luster. Thus, the main aim of polishing and buffing is to improve the aesthetics of a metal-machined component.

Electropolishing

For electropolishing, it is the exact opposite of the electroplating process. Instead of depositing metal ions on surfaces of metal components, electropolishing removes metal ions from the surface. During the process, the substrate is immersed in an electrolyte bath before applying an electrical current.

The substrate becomes the anode, with ions flowing from it to remove defects, rusts, debris, etc. The result is a polished and smoothened surface void of bumps and pocks. Electropolishing removes peaks and valleys from metal surfaces down to the microscopic level. This is one of the best surface finishing options for metals that require a clean and pristine appearance.

Coating

The coating is a broad umbrella that covers several subcategories of surface finishes. The most common and most inexpensive option is the application of commercial paints. Some paints can add color to the product to make it look more aesthetically pleasing. Others can help actively protect the component from corrosion.

There is also powder coating which is a modern version of the painting. It attracts powder particles to metal parts using an electrostatic charge. The powder particles cover the material surface evenly before it is cured through heat treatment or the use of ultraviolet rays. This method is quick and efficient for finishing metal parts like bike frames, vehicle body panels, and several other metallic components.

Blasting

Abrasive blasting is typically used for products that require uniform matte texture. It is a cost-effective process that combines surface cleaning and finishing into a single operation. During abrasive blasting, a high-pressure abrasive flow sprays the metal surface to change its texture, remove debris, and provide a smooth finish.

It can also serve as a surface preparation plating and coating to increase the durability of metal parts. The typical blasting machinery consists of:

• An air compressor to adjust the pressure and volume
• Water-assisted system to suppress dust development
• Moisture separator for humidity reduction
• Air supply line
• Blast machine
• Hose and nozzle
• Blast media, including sand, metal pellets, glass beads, steel grit, steel shots, silicon carbide, etc.

The common abrasive blasting methods are sand blasting and bead blasting. Another unique blasting method is shot peening. This process helps impart compressive stress on metal surfaces to improve fatigue and corrosion cracking resistance. Abrasive blasting is generally cost- and time-saving, allowing product managers to get products to market faster.

Brushing

Brushing finish effectively creates a uniform surface texture and smoothes out the exterior of metal machined products. Unlike plating, this metal finishing technique is ideal for removing imperfections on metal surfaces. It usually employs wire brushes or abrasive belts to achieve these purposes.

Depending on the manufacturer’s application of the process, the results may differ. For instance, moving the brush or belt in a singular direction can help create slightly rounded edges on the surface. On the other hand, wire brushing aims to remove slags produced during welding operations. It also removes grit and scale from the surface of metals before cleaning, plating, or coating.

Painting

Painting and powder coating are quite similar. It involves altering a metal part with substances like paint, pigment, or color. This surface finishing technique adds a colored protective layer to metal surfaces.

The process begins with the atomization of the paint to transform it into small droplets with high compression and other external forces. Then the machinist delivers the paint to the metal component with the most suitable method. The different methods available include spray painting, powder coating, silk screening, etc.

The method used will depend on the desired finish according to the material size, shape, and quality. Painting aims to create a protective coating on the part’s surface and give it an improved appearance, reaching a high gloss degree.  

Choosing a Metal Surface Finishing Process: Factors to Consider

Surface finishing is an essential aspect of metal fabrication, and a proper understanding of the requirements will help you get your desired finish. The adequate pairing of consumables and material knowledge is key to getting a quality finish within a short time and at affordable prices. Here are some factors you need to consider before choosing a surface finish for your metal parts:

Material

Not all metal surface finish techniques are suitable for all metals. For example, anodizing is ideal for aluminum and other non-ferrous metals. Therefore, you must first consider the metal material used in manufacturing the component before choosing the surface finish for that metal.

Some metals are soft, so you don’t want to use strong abrasives on them to avoid damaging their surfaces. On the other hand, using too soft techniques on hard or strong materials may not give you the desired results.

Speed

Different surface finishes have different completion time frames; some are fast while others are slow. Therefore, you must consider the time you need to deliver a project. Analyze the metal finishing options and consider their processing times. If you need to deliver a project quickly, then you need to adopt a surface finish with a very fast processing time.

Applications

Your product’s application and the environment it will be exposed to should also affect your choice. You should choose a protective surface finish for parts with high-intensive applications. These protective finishes will confer durability on the components and prevent premature damage. On the other hand, you can choose an aesthetic finish on parts that don’t require exposure to intense environments.  

Budget

You may have found the perfect finishing technique for your metal products, but is it within your budget? Your budget is the overall determinant of the type of finishing process you choose. You should choose one that is within your range while offering quality results. Expensive finishes may raise the product’s cost and affect your company’s budget bottom line.

Conclusion

Quality surface finishing is vital in the production of metal parts. It is not only beneficial to end-users, but it also offers several advantages to the manufacturer. However, not knowing the right way to go about it may affect both manufacturers and end-users in the long run. Therefore, you must understand your needs and look for the most suitable finish for your project.

Here, WayKen offers excellent parts finishing services at very competitive prices. We are committed to meeting the needs of parts requiring a variety of surface finishes, and we perform 100% inspection upon delivery. Upload your CAD file today, you will never be disappointed!