I need another project like a hole in the head "O WELL"

[kiwi]

It's taken me over a year to fined a second hand one of these babys.
Went to a use plant auction today and there it was just waiting for me.
The specs are closer to what I need than I could have ever hoped for.
AC ones are everywhere but DC an't so common and in the voltage range I require.
Now you are asking yourself ! what the hell is he going to use that for.
 Power surply for Anodizing.
Its specs are -
input - 240v @ 50hz
output - 180v DC @ 11 amps
 All yer have to do is..
mix water & 10% nitric asid.
put a neg - grid in with a bigger sur area
that the bit to be anodized.
hang the peice in the water conected to positive +
wined the power up till you get the colour you want.
do it out side as it make a lot of hydrogen gas.
be great for muzzel breaks/ scope mounts etc

  ( basic over veiw of process)

[Gene_SC]

Great find Peter.

Gene

very cool Peter.

[RCnMo]

That's a real jewel. I've done a bit of anodizing with a battery charger, but, haven't quite got perfection yet. Let us know how it works for you.

[kiwi]

RCnMo..I have tryed the battrey charger & dye thing didden't have a lot of luck either.
Have wondered about trying a DC inverter welder " the little tig/arc units"
or maybe a 24volt truck battrey charger or 2 12volt conected  in relay?

[RCnMo]

I've thought about using my dc welder for it too. I would be afraid of it maybe burning up though. I think a couple of batteries connected in series would give plenty of juice, but you wouldn't have any control over the amperage and it may heat the solution too quickly. From what I've read, you want to keep the electrolyte cooler than 50 degrees C. Let us know how it works out for you. The first brake I anodized turned out nice and black, but it had some light specks on it. I think they were due to the small bubbles that formed on the piece. It was also 2024 aluminum. The 6061 that I have now won't take the dye and just turns June bug green. Good luck.

[kiwi]

Heres the thing ...couldn't colour alloy at all came out just the same as it went in.
mite try mixing dye with the electrolyte & water.
But stanless steel was a diffrent matter could get any colour I wanted as long as it
wasn't any more than 1.6mm thick.
180 volts was not enough how dam meany volts do you need for thick bits

[RCnMo]

Are you using a 30 percent solution of sulfuric acid and distilled water? Also, the cathode has to be either aluminum or lead to work.  I know it can be touchy, but my first try worked out pretty good. I was only using a 12v charger set at 12amps for something the size of a M-brake. I also found that when I colored the part, I had to put it in the dye and bring the heat up as it soaked. It started taking color when steam started appearing. Like I said in an earlier post, the 6061 wouldn't take to the dye like the softer alloy did. Keep us posted.

[JOHNNY QUEST]

The way I do it is an old tricktaught to me by a knife maker.

  I bought a bridge rectifier and a dimmer switch.. i got a plastic tub and made a titanium shield in a square..  - side of the load was hooked to the shield and + to the part...   fill the tub with tri-sodium phosphate and insert part into solution inside the shield that is submerged in it..   The further you turn the dimmer switch the different the color...
  A low setting is in the orange range and the higher ya go gets to the dark blue's and purple...

  It worked great.....  and it cost little...

 here are a couple old ones I made but they have a lot of pocket time and its wearing off..  they are purple... or were anyway...

 Randall

[kiwi]

Hi..i just had quick play with what I had lieing around,
used baking soda as the elctrolyte. just have to do a
bit more research "it will not beat me"

[JOHNNY QUEST]

Kiwi  try TRI- SODIUM - PHOSPHATE..  its cheap and pleantyfull here...