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Today I tested how well heatsinks and heater blocks from E3D would anodize. As you can see from the results it works great! I will now be able to anodize them to match the aluminum and carbon fiber mounts I make. If anyone is interested in an anodized heatsink or heater block, just shoot me a note.

Could you do this with a Kraken water cooling block without changing the tolerances on the M3 threads and the heat break holes? I don't know much about anodization, but I think it'd be cool to further establish my color theme I have going.

Nylocke wrote:Could you do this with a Kraken water cooling block without changing the tolerances on the M3 threads and the heat break holes? I don't know much about anodization, but I think it'd be cool to further establish my color theme I have going.

I would have to touch base with E3D on what alloy they used for those. Also have to make sure there is no other metals in that cooling block already when it is anodized. If both things check out it should be fine. The E3d V6 heatsinks are sourced from them without the brass fitting pressed in already so they anodize fine. The anodize layer is not a super thick layer over all and it should be fine. Everything still fits great on the E3d V6 I tested with. I will email them tonight and check on the metal alloy and also to make sure there is no other metal fittings I need to know about before it can be anodized.

Alright thanks.

Damn, pretty soon people will think we're using AN fittings on these things Looks good.

Thanks guys!

The Volcano heater block seems to also have done very well.

The heatsink is heading out to one of my beta testers and the Volcano will get a matching heatsink shortly and be my personal hotend for bigger projects.

Having been down this path - anodized heater blocks will discolor with use. It is not a good candidate to anodize. The heatsink is fine though. And yes, the Kraken exterior can be anodized, you simply plug the holes and anodize the exterior. The brass fitting in the Kraken can be covered with nail polish to protect it and then the hole plugged with silicone seal or putty and away you go.

Nice anodizing though! I anodize a lot of aluminum for my fly reels and appreciate a nice job.

cheers,
Michael

Beautiful

bot wrote:Damn, pretty soon people will think we're using AN fittings on these things Looks good.

Now that would be sweet.... AN fittings and stainless braided hose for the bowden!!
don't think they make them small enough though.
nice stuff, used a bit of it way back in my race engine building days. Worked at a speed shop.

Come to think of it, they do have steel braided teflon tubing... And they definitely do have all sizes. I'm only familiar from aviation.

Worlds most expensive bowden tube

No, for that add MIL-SPEC.

bot wrote:Damn, pretty soon people will think we're using AN fittings on these things Looks good.

Great, that will add 10X to the price of everything!

travelphotog are you selling these anodized e3d heat sink and heater blocks. I looking at purchasing an e3d v6+volcano and was wondering how much you were charging to make these custom pieces.

What about E3D-Lite6? What colors are available?

Renha wrote:What about E3D-Lite6? What colors are available?

The lite heat sink is stainless steel. So I don't think it can be anodized.

here's a thought, spray paint the heat sink with automotive high temperature engine enamel.
This burnt orange metallic would look trick...
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/vht- ... gine+paint

drwho wrote:travelphotog are you selling these anodized e3d heat sink and heater blocks. I looking at purchasing an e3d v6+volcano and was wondering how much you were charging to make these custom pieces.

For ease of doing this I use the heat sinks straight from E3d in the UK without the brass inserts in place. thhen press them in place after being anodized. So I just charge $10 above the cost of the unit and shipping (which comes out cheaper than buying it local with the brass insert already pressed in). That being said

I have not had the chance to print with one of the anodized heat sinks or heater blocks yet. I have only been home one or two days a week between assignments the last seven weeks or so. I would like to run these a bit under normal printing loads to test everything out before I start selling them and risking them having heat issues. I can try to get the Volcanon up and goiing this week as I need to test mine any ways.

I will try some heating tests withh the anodized parts this week when I get home and see how they do.

Cool, I look forward to seeing the results. I appreciate you putting the parts through their paces before selling them.

How are you anodizing your aluminum? I'm working on a project that id like to have some anodized colored bits on it, and I've been looking around for home brew ways of doing it. Seems the battery acid anodizing, lye and RIT dye, and boiled water sealing method is pretty common and inexpensive. Is this what you're doing?

Nylocke wrote:How are you anodizing your aluminum? I'm working on a project that id like to have some anodized colored bits on it, and I've been looking around for home brew ways of doing it. Seems the battery acid anodizing, lye and RIT dye, and boiled water sealing method is pretty common and inexpensive. Is this what you're doing?

Over all that is the idea of how it is done. But you need a lab power supply so you can control the power 100%. I do not use Rit dye as it tends to fade over time. I use anodizing dyes for all my work. Also you should use a Nickel Acetate sealant when you do the boil sealer. It is pretty simple but also depends on which color you are trying to use also. Blacks are pretty ease to get (with the right dye otherwise they tend to look eggplant purple in sunlight) While reds are much harder to get good results from. Do you know which alloy your parts are made from? Some alloys need an acid dip before they are dipped in the dye and also some will not do very well if you do a Lye etch before hand. It all depends on the alloys and the color you intend to go for.

How's your progress? I want some!

Renha wrote:How's your progress? I want some!

I have been out of town so much for work and trying to keep up with the demand for the hot end mounts, that I have not had much time to work on this of late. We are working hard to get some new mount prototypes out to expand the number of hot ends our mount will work with. If it is a E3d V6 cold end you are seeking to have anodized, you can shoot me an email at matt@713maker(DOT)com and I will see about getting on taken care of for you. Currently I am only working on new cold ends without the brass inert installed and then pressing the insert into the anodized cold end. This is due to the brass fitting being damaged our polluting my acid bath in the anodizing process. Some have success with applying a mask to the brass fitting to cover it from the acid. But I have have mixed success with this due to the placement of the insert in the cold end, so we currently only work on the new cold ends then inert the fittings after anodize.

bvandiepenbos wrote:

Renha wrote:What about E3D-Lite6? What colors are available?

The lite heat sink is stainless steel. So I don't think it can be anodized.

here's a thought, spray paint the heat sink with automotive high temperature engine enamel.
This burnt orange metallic would look trick...
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/vht- ... gine+paint

Brian, would you have to use some sort of etching primer before Stainless can be painted?
Same question on aluminum?

Alodine can be dyed and is a potential option for stainless according to some sources. I've never seen it done, but might be worth a shot.

These guys are headed out the door to RUSSIA! Excited to see more international customers enjoying our services. We have a few more heatsinks in stock for anodizing if anyone else is interested. You can hit us up here or at [email protected].

Great work!