Hard coat anodizing is, to put it simply, a specific type of metal finish that utilizes a chemical process to ensure galvanic neutrality, electrical resistance, and a number of other extremely useful mechanical properties on aluminum. This is an extremely versatile metal coating type, used in a lot of different industries. Typically, you’ll find this kind of finish in industries such as the following:
Military: Specifically useful in application on firearms, for corrosion resistance which is critical for weaponry used in the field.
Aerospace: Offers dry lubrication and greater longevity.
Electronics: Creates a more uniform platform for emissivity, the process of emitting radiant energy (often thermal energy, for uniform cooling purposes).
Cookware: Provides greater corrosion resistance and non-stick properties, and often comes with PTFE impregnation (Teflon impregnation, as per Dickinson) for use on the interior of pots and pans.
Sport Equipment: greatly improves product durability.
And more. While complex, this type of finishing offers immense amounts of durability and quality resistances such as a specific resistance to marine environments – perfect for equipment that needs to be used out at sea – and atmospheric conditions, as well as better operating temperatures to improve the viability of a machinery or piece of equipment, and a level of chemical neutrality that helps neuter the reactions that different metals usually have on one another.
Like many other specialized coatings, hard coat anodizing is penetrates metal but also adds an extremely thin layer onto equipment, making it important for that layer to be accounted for when considering the anodizing process.
If what you’re looking for is a way to vastly improve your aluminum material’s applications, or if you’re a supplier with a specialized request, then finding a coating expert to work on your material with this type of anodizing process is critical.