Summary for e-coating service Discussion
E-coating service for skateboard tool is the core need in this short thread, but the excerpt only shows the question and a photo reference to a multi-tool. The poster is asking for help finding an e-coating service for a skateboard tool, likely to finish or protect the part. No answers are included in the provided source, so there is no technical guidance, vendor recommendation, or process advice to summarize from the thread itself. Based on the available text, the page is simply a request for e-coating service information rather than a resolved discussion.
Q. Hello,
Here you can see our multi-tool:
It is currently offered in a hot black oxide finish.
We want to offer these in colors, such as gold or hot pink, etc.
It seems e-coating would be nice and thin, unlike powder coating. This is good so our wrenches fit right.
Still, question one is: what thickness of e-coating would you recommend and should we be subtracting this thickness on the sizes of our wrench openings in our 3-D model before investment casting these? If we weren’t e-coating these, the engineer would adjust our model as needed to account for any shrinkage or expansion in the material after heating and quenching/tempering.
We take delivery in France and the U.S. so these can be finished in China or Europe or the U.S. depending on the batch, etc.
Don Holm
Founder – Los Angeles, California
Ed. note: This RFQ is outdated, but technical replies are welcome, and readers are encouraged to post their own RFQs. But no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?).
A. Hi Don. I think E-coating will probably be somewhere about 0.0002″ — that’s 2 ten-thousandths not 2 thousandths. To my understanding it is not typical to adjust dimension of tools of this nature for thicknesses in that range, but I would ask a vendor to do a couple of sample parts and see what you think of it before committing to the process or adjusting your other steps. (Readers/responders usually enjoy having as full a picture of the poster’s situation as practical, so we note Don’s earlier posting on topic 25543).
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
March 2020
Q. The factory making the keys just said they think e-coating would peel off so is there a better alternative? I assumed e-coating was better than paint due to thickness and powder coating would be more likely to chip. Open to suggestion.
Don Holm
– Los Angeles, California, USA
March 15, 2020
A. Hello again Don. Although there is obvious truth to the fact that organic coatings (paint, powder, e-coating) are softer than metal and are not as wear-resistant, chip resistant, and strongly adherent as metal plating, e-coating should be fine.
Proper adhesion is a matter of proper cleaning and pretreatment. Send a few of your existing keys out for sample e-coating. I think any organic coating will chip/wear off the tip of the phillips screwdriver pretty quickly, but based on your earlier postings, and people’s normal experience with phillips screwdrivers, I wouldn’t expect this to be a big deal.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
March 2020
Thanks, I hoped for that answers I will make samples the goal and not likely modify the 3-D models. I will solicit estimates once the casting process is done. Takes about 35 days. We are changing a few things like the logo on the existing tool.
Don Hilm
– Los Angeles, California USA
March 15, 2020