Many years back I was at a Filers Convention and someone got up to give a presentation. He was speaking about Sawguides and how they were manufactured. I thought it was going to be interesting to hear someone else’s perspective until the gentlemen stated, “The best anodizing is clear anodizing!”.
At that moment I thought I was going to launch (aka lose it). Out of courtesy I did not confront the individual during the talk. Thinking back I wish I would have taken the opportunity to ensure that the people present at the meeting could have been properly informed about the different types of anodizing for industrial use. I wondered how many other things were being said to customers behind closed doors that were simply untrue. Now when I am out on sales calls or at conventions, I make a point of trying to educate as many people as possible about misleading comments.
I bet you, or someone you know, has an MP3 Player, Cell Phone or Gadget that has aluminum housing and you have seen they can come in some pretty nice colors. This color is derived from a dye introduced during the anodizing process. To be clear, this anodizing is known as Type II anodizing. Aluminum is actually a porous material and the process of anodizing converts the aluminum to an aluminum oxide layer that is very hard and begins to fill the pores. It is limited to about a 0.001” thickness and does not fill the pores. At the end the aluminum is put into a dye and then sealed. It looks very nice, but as I said, it is limited to 0.001” and if you do not use a dye you get “clear aluminum”. If you do have a clear aluminum Sawguide, please just check to see if it was actually anodized. This being said, you have seen many complain about how easily their colored devices scratch with this Type II anodizing. Since it is easily scratched then Type II is not the best for industrial use especially for Sawguides which are exposed to a lot of abrasion.
The best for industrial use is called Type III or “Engineering Hard coat”. Its color is basically grey to dark grey depending on the conditions when it is applied. It reaches a thickness of 0.005” and it completely fills in the pores of the aluminum and therefore you can’t add color. By its name you can tell that it is best suited for industrial use and, therefore, is the best anodizing to use for Sawguides. It is thicker and very abrasion resistant.
How to tell if your Sawguides have the right anodizing?
Take a look at your Sawguides. If you have any color besides grey to dark grey you may want to question why you are getting a cheaper anodizing process that is not for industrial use. If your Sawguides aren’t sporting Type III anodizing then they may be better for decoration in your office, as they will not last long in your sawmill.
I want to make sure that you are as informed as possible. Let me know if this helps.
Author: Udo Jahn
