[R-390] On the subject of manufacturing front panels...

[Tim Shoppa]

> Sure, anodize is sexy, sheds heat, is an excellent insulator and
> is "harder than paint".

Isn't black anodized the IERC "black tube shield" secret?

> But, you can't hide blemishes, seams and mistakes with anodize.

If I understand the Front Panel Express process, the raw 
pre-anodized panel will be flawless.  Machining is done entirely
by automation.  I haven't seen their black anodize in person
(have seen some unanodized work - incredible!) but it looks
pretty spiffy.

> Hard anodize isn't.  Scratches and dings will inevitably appear
> and they tend to really stand out on an anodized panel.

Yeah, I like my 13 year old car because it's already covered with
scratches and dents so I don't have to worry about new ones!

> At work we switched from Sherwin Williams paint to powercoat
> which was fine

Everybody keeps writing "powercoat".  Is that the same as
"powdercoat", or a specific brand name for powdercoat, or
something completely different?

> but lately the craze is hard anodize.

I thought that craze was from the 70's!

> Last week we a got a lot of black hard
> anodized chassis that all looked like a million. We built up
> 10 units and burned them in. They all came out purple. Woops.

I've seen that on heat-sinks that get run to 300F or higher.
You must have a pretty serious "burn-in" process!

Tim.