Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


-----

Tolerance problem in Powder Coating Thickness Around Holes

I work for an electrical components company and we are painting using texture color some metal plates 16 ga CRS, these parts have 12 openings about 0.300" dia. The tolerances was +-0.010" but a couple of days ago our customer changed the tolerance to +0.003 to -0.002.

All 12 openings must meet this new tolerance and I'm having hard time to achieve it.

Is it possible to have these tolerances?
What will be the industry standard in this case?
If yes, how can I meet it?

Jose Ochoa
operations manager - Chula Vista, California
2007

---

I'll bet you weren't keeping the .020 that's why they cut you down to .005, this might be their way of saying "tighten up your process". Wrinkles aren't hole friendly but you should be able to do it, can you plug the holes so paint doesn't get in them? The industry standard is to do what the customer wants, but they really shouldn't do this kind of thing without discussing it with you first, so they are a little bit out of line. You have the obligation to requote your price to keep this new, tighter than agreed upon tolerance, mainly because you will probably end up adding resources to accommodate the change.

Sheldon Taylor
supply chain electronics
Wake Forest, North Carolina
2007