Sanford Process Blog

Understanding the Chemistry and Options for Anodic Coating on Medical Devices

Before choosing a casting and anodic finish, it is important to understand some of the basic chemistry behind why[...]

Defective Material Report Process to Set Expectations

I often hear customers say that when they received their anodized aluminum parts back from their anodize vendor, they are surprised by[...]

“Challenges & Solutions for Reusable Medical Devices Requiring Reprocessing”

There’s been an important development in the 2016 FDA science priorities that involves taking a stronger look at the[...]

Is a Lighter Color Aluminum Hard Coat Thinner than a Darker One?

I have been asked this question often: “Is it always the case that a lighter color hard coat is less thick than a darker one?”[...]

Up-Front Factors that Achieve a Fantastic Final Cast Aluminum Finish 

Getting excellent results with hard coat and anodizing cast aluminum articles? “No way!” is a common, but mistaken response.[...]

Top 5 Ways to Store Aluminum Parts to Prevent Corrosion

We realize that every facility has its own unique physical attributes and each organization operates with its own processes. Either of[...]

The Impact of Foreign Materials on Aluminum Parts before Anodizing

 Although simple in principle, there is a lot of confusion over how aluminum parts need to arrive at the metal finisher so that[...]

Why We Need to Know About the Alloy and Its Temper When Anodizing Aluminum

With over 30 commonly available aluminum alloys, and a multitude of tempers for each alloy, this question frequently[...]

Challenges and Solutions for Aluminum Anodizes for Reprocessing Medical Devices

The FDA released the 2016 science priorities from the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). The report[...]

Aluminum Anodizing and Water Conservation Do Not Have to Be Incompatible

In my day, in metal finishing class 101, the first thing you were taught about aluminum anodizing was this: when you think[...]