Surface finishes
Powder coating services
We offer several powder coating finishes that improve the strength and wear-resistance of your metal parts. Powder coating is compatible with all metals and available in glossy or matte gloss.
| Surface preparation | Colors* | Glossiness | Cosmetic availability | Thickness | Visual appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As machined (Ra 3.2μm / Ra 126μin) | White, Black, RAL and Pantone | Glossy (Above 20 GU) | No | 50μm to 150μm | Parts are powder coated directly after machining. |
| As machined (Ra 3.2μm / Ra 126μin) | White, Black, RAL and Pantone | Matte (Below 20 GU) | No | 50μm to 150μm | Parts are powder coated directly after machining. |
Example of a powder coated part
Design considerations for powder coating
Hanging and jigging marks:
Powder coating involves suspending parts via a “jig” or “rack.” This will leave marks on your part where powder coating wasn’t possible. If there are areas where you can’t accept “jig” marks, please remember to include a technical drawing indicating these areas.
Masking:
Remember to indicate in your CAD file whether you want specific part areas to be masked or plugged.As material is applied to the surface during powder coating, all threaded and reamed holes or other critical-to-function surfaces are plugged or masked as standard.
Tolerances:
Tolerances are met before the coating finish. We recommend that you ask for clarifications about masking as needed.
The Hubs powder coating process
Powder coating is a strong, wear-resistant surface finish that is compatible with all metal materials.
Here’s how to apply powder coating:
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Clean parts to remove inorganic contaminants
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To enhance performance and quality, pretreat parts with a conversion coating
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Rinse and dry parts in an oven
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Mask critical areas to prevent tolerance issues
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Coat parts with an electrostatic spray gun
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Dry parts in an oven to cure the coating
How does powder coating work?
FAQ's
How much does your 3D printing service cost?
How do you guarantee the quality of my prints?
Your parts are made by experienced 3D printing shops within our network. All facilities are regularly audited to ensure they consistently meet the Hubs quality standard. We include a standardized inspection report with every order and offer a First Article Inspection service on orders of 100+ units.
We have partners in our network with the following certifications, available on request: ISO9001, ISO13485 and AS9100.
Follow this link to read more about our quality assurance measures.
How do I select the right 3D printing process for my prints?
You can select the right 3D printing process by examining which materials suit your need and what your use case is.
By material: if you already know which material you would like to use, selecting a 3D printing process is relatively easy, as many materials are technology specific.
By use case: once you know whether you need a functional or visual part, choosing a process is easy.
For more help, read our guide to selecting the right 3D printing process. Find out more about Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) and Stereolithography (SLA).
How can I reduce the cost of my 3D prints?
In order to reduce the cost of your 3D prints you need to understand the impact certain factors have on cost. The main cost influencing factors are the material type, individual part volume, printing technology and post-processing requirements.
Once these have been decided, an easy way to further cut costs is to reduce the amount of material used. This can be done by decreasing the size of your model, hollowing it out, and eliminating the need for support structures.
To learn more, read our full guide on how to reduce the cost of 3D printing.
Where can I learn more about 3D printing?
Our knowledge base is full of in-depth design guidelines, explanations on process and surface finishes, and information on how to create and use CAD files. Our 3D printing content has been written by an expert team of engineers and technicians over the years.
See our complete engineering guide to 3D printing for a full breakdown of the different 3D printing technologies and materials. If you want even more 3D printing, then check out our acclaimed 3D printing handbook here.
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