Power supply for anodising?

[Voicecoil]

It's worth checking your connections (with a DMM set to ohms/continuity) - one probe on the connection to the PSU, one on the workpiece. In my setup (I use sodium bisulphate) I'd be expecting about 0.7...0.9A on 31in2 @ 20 deg C - always seems to be less than the 720 rule predicts, so I just run it for proportionately longer.

[lilvfr400boy]

It's worth checking your connections (with a DMM set to ohms/continuity) - one probe on the connection to the PSU, one on the workpiece. In my setup (I use sodium bisulphate) I'd be expecting about 0.7...0.9A on 31in2 @ 20 deg C - always seems to be less than the 720 rule predicts, so I just run it for proportionately longer.

Thank you I'll grab a dmm asap I stood on mine just before I wanted to use it it's a shame though if I have a good connection but can't get the unit to get an amp reading at all, what would you suggest if that is the case ( good solid connection , small work piece 7sq2, no amps )

I assumed ( potentially incorrect) that you could set the amps to whatever you wanted ? ( I know you would only set it to the 720 rules suggestion anyway ) but would be nice to be able to push the unit to am exact amp to match the 720, for example I can get a reading from the workpiece when it's the 32 sq2 piece but only pushing around 0.6 amp which is half what 720 suggests for 0.2mm thickness do I just double up on time and it will give me 0.2mm?

Sorry if this is super basic stuff that should be elementary but I find some info online is overkill and others are futile in the basic nature they describe it .
I was hoping I could ditch the car charger in place of this but without being able to do small bits I'll need to keep it is my concern.

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[lilvfr400boy]

My plates are relatively new, and I've lightly sanded them in case any surface corrosion was the case , I've retested using my car battery charger and it works anodising just fine at 32sq2 but of course it's not ideal as can't see amps volts etc this is the result when using the car charger so it's stumping me why the better supply isn't working for me
I've tried a multitude of things to test being able to push amps etc and it's working I'll try a test on a battery when I can.

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[lilvfr400boy]

This I guess is one issue with this ps tbh as it's not selectable the mode and it doesn't say which it's on either.
I'm considering sending it back as I'm certain it's not fit for purpose. I've set a limit of £250 to get something and looking at the Maas suggested above but any pointers would be hugely appreciated. I'll get £110 back for this providing they accept it back. It just doesn't seem close to accurate enough for small scale work like 5-7 sq2 which is a pain as the end caps I do are between them

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[Voicecoil]

This I guess is one issue with this ps tbh as it's not selectable the mode and it doesn't say which it's on either.
I'm considering sending it back as I'm certain it's not fit for purpose. I've set a limit of £250 to get something and looking at the Maas suggested above but any pointers would be hugely appreciated. I'll get £110 back for this providing they accept it back. It just doesn't seem close to accurate enough for small scale work like 5-7 sq2 which is a pain as the end caps I do are between them

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OK, then looking at the front panel I guess for constant voltage you turn the current knob way up and set the voltage, and for constant current you turn the volts all the way up and set the current. It seems to me that something like a little lab bacn supply would do you well for you smaller pieces, needn't be too expensive, there's lots like this for example:

https://www.conrad.com/p/basetech-bt...uts-1-x-513812

[lilvfr400boy]

Well I've places approx 40sq2 into the bath now including the end caps in the hope it would just up the amp draw automatically so roughly 0.3 amp increase by adding them to a busbar style setup ( length of copper wire ) with 3 work pieces setup on this. I aim to be anodising multiple parts anyway so figured if I use a bigger work piece then add small ones to it I can sort of see the jump in amps between them.
Going to give it 1.5 hours for this lot hopefully should bring me to around 0.3mm.
Ps @voicecoil that ps looks interesting have you tried it ? May be of use for me to do all my smaller items.
I'm about to setup a 45 liter tank as hoping to anodise around 200 sq2 at a time save messing with things as much
Out of interest do you think this will be too thin to obtain a solid dye colour ? If so I'll give it 2 hours as the parts arent moving so interferance isn't an issue .

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[Voicecoil]

Ps @voicecoil that ps looks interesting have you tried it ? May be of use for me to do all my smaller items.

No I haven't - it was just the first such item of a suitable spec. that came up in a search! There's loads of such things available for sub £100, if it were me I'd probably get one from someone like Rapid Electronics or CPC as you've got good backup.

Out of interest do you think this will be too thin to obtain a solid dye colour ? If so I'll give it 2 hours as the parts arent moving so interferance isn't an issue .Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

I'm no great authority on things like thickness I'm afraid, being a bit of an anodising newbie myself. The parts I did for the CNC had about 10...15u according to the 720 rule and seemed to colour up just fine. BTW, you've some nicely machined parts there!

edit: Just had a look on CPC and they've a Tenma 30V/5A PSU for £60

[lilvfr400boy]

Well it wasn't terribly unsuccessful did a full other mod test unit that's been abused a bit. Thanks for everyone's input it's helped tremendously I've got some ally mig wire coming to help with lessen resistance

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[lilvfr400boy]

I'll have a gander and check it out I've worked out this is running enough when on 0 amps to anodise how I want at 2.5 hours for smaller parts

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[lilvfr400boy]

Couple more bits rattled off getting some consistency now I've got the mounting to the rack setup rite. Have to say this power supply ain't bad tbh. I've ordered a small 30 w 5 amp unit off the bay that's reviewed well as a permanent fixture for the smaller setup as the fusion units coming to the big boy tank. All my amp issues were purely down to how I was attaching the parts ( not enough contact ) in the end ally mig wire 0.8mm wound into coils and pushed tight into the holes has worked perfectly for what I'm doing

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