How To Talk About Surface Texture Like A Pro
As a product designer you know that your choice of a surface texture goes a long way towards determining how your product looks, feels and performs. However, you may not realize that there’s a specialized vocabulary used by manufacturers when they make and describe surface textures. If you become familiar with these terms and how […]
Anodized Aluminum Colors: Understanding Color Matching
A Walkthrough of the Aluminum Anodizing and Color Matching Process Anodizing is a great way to put an attractive and physically durable finish on aluminum parts. Anodizing improves corrosion resistance, surface hardness, prevents scratching and is an ideal foundation for painting, glue or powder coating. There are many challenges when trying to match colors on […]
What Makes a Great Paint Job
When people think of paint, they tend to think of it in a general sense. They often picture a smooth liquid substance that—once applied to a surface—can bring walls, buildings, and furniture to life. The definition doesn’t do justice to the sophisticated chemistry underlying modern coating technology. At Star Rapid, we use a variety of […]
Plastic Injection Molding Surface Finish: Making and Measuring Textures For Injection Molding
All plastic injection molded parts have a surface texture created by the tools that made them. To get the surface finish and texture that you want from injection molding, it’s important for you to learn how we make and measure such finishes in our inspection department. At Star Rapid, we follow the finishing standards of […]
8 Things You Need to Know About Anodizing Aluminum
Anodizing is a method for changing the surface chemistry of metals and other substrates. It protects against corrosion, enhances aesthetic qualities, resists scratching and is one of the most durable surface finishes available. Let’s take aluminum as an example to see how this process cleverly exploits oxidation for a result that’s both decorative and functional.
What is Vapor Polishing? Vapor Polishing Explained
Vapor polishing is a finishing service commonly used to achieve high levels of transparency in plastic, like when plastic is used to make a lightweight optical quality lens. In situations like these, vapor polishing is one of the best and fastest ways to achieve optimal transparency. In cases where absolute transparency isn’t necessary, such as when making clear […]
Industrial Equipment News: 7 Questions To Ask Yourself About Surface Finishes
What’s the best surface finish for your part? The answer to that question depends on having a clear understanding not only of what the product is expected to do but also the environment in which it will function.
The Art Of Designing Surface Finishes For Your Product
How a part looks, feels and functions is highly dependent on surface finish and key to designing a successful product. Knowing how to choose the best finish is a matter of asking the right questions about who will use it, for what purpose and in what environment. Here are some questions to ask yourself to […]
Successful Product Development: The Importance of Proof of Concept
You will be told that you need to prototype your product to make sure that it works. But before you dive into the world of rapid prototyping, there’s one step that quite a few startups miss out on: creating a proof of concept.
What are the Top Passivation Techniques?
What Does Passivation Mean? Passivation means to alter the chemical structure of a metal at or just below the surface, so that it’s more stable and doesn’t want to react with other elements in an undesirable way. There are several different manufacturing processes that we routinely use to passivate the surface of a part. The […]
