Coloured anodisation

Challenge
Both optics and haptics play a key role for visible components. Particularly when it comes to multi-part visible components that are installed together on one device, reproducible visible quality is exceptionally important. Ultimately, the colour and gloss level need to be identical on all the components used. Customers' tastes also play a major part in high-quality consumer goods such as coffee machines – for example, when customers are looking for a household appliance that matches the look and colour of their kitchen. The keyword here is individuality!

Solution with added value
Thanks to enhanced dyeing techniques for anodised coatings and the customising of the process to suit individual colour schemes, the Holzapfel Group is meanwhile capable of reproducing a wide range of colours in anodised surfaces. The capillary-like structure of the anodised surface is used to fill the pores with suitable dyes – from unsaturated colours to mixtures, from glossy to matt, ensuring the design leaves nothing to be desired!

Other characteristics also make the custom-anodised surface the ideal partner for sophisticated coffee machines:

• Wear- and scratch-resistant aluminium oxide layer with a hardness of > 250 HV – to make sure the side panels keep looking good for a long time and are impervious to cleaning
• RoHS-compliant and non-toxic – an essential feature for household appliances
• Outstanding heat resistance and high electrical insulation effect

Eloxal anodised surfaces for hybrid components
Colourful Eloxal anodisation with hybrid technology
An important point in the context of coatings for coffee machines is that, thanks to Eloxal Individual Hybrid, the anodised surface can also be applied to hybrid material systems such as metal-plastic composites or to anodise previously back-injected components. Eloxal Hybrid can also be used to coat complete hybrid composite parts with the advantages of the "one way" value added process, as the coating created by anodising and additionally embedding dyes in the pores of the anodised surface is implemented as a final production process and provides a high level of quality. The production sequence therefore prevents the anodised layer from becoming ruptured by processes such as back-injecting or gluing performed after coating. Moreover, it eliminates surface defects from upstream manufacturing processes.

Interesting for

• High-quality consumer goods and household goods (e.g. domestic appliances, headphones)
• The automotive industry (car interiors), two-wheelers
• Mechanical engineering
• Electrical industry
• The optical goods industry
• Microscopy, dimensional metrology, light barriers
• The jewellery industry
• The glass industry