[Jewelry making - Article 00955] - Re: [Orchid] Anodzing Power Supply

[Sullivan, Rick]

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>     But before taking the leap, I want to ask Rick whether he has found
>     any shortcomings with it, and Bill Seeley what I may have
>     overlooked about his unit, since I am a longtime and loyal
>     customer of Reactive Metals.

    Yes, Reactive Metals has been a super supplier!  I considered sending
    them this information off line so they might re-sell it as a low cost
    alternative, but the price was so low it did'nt seem that it would be
    worth their effort. 

>      the website does not seem to say (though I don't really understand
>     the arcane language of electronics) by what increments you can
>     adjust the amperage (*not* the voltage). Can you enlighten me? Do
>     you understand the function of the "constant current" button? 

    I have not used the constant current button but don't think it is of
    much use in my applications , unless you wanted to slow down the
    process. The constant current function maintains a constant current
    out of the supply as the resistance of the load changes.  The "load'
    in this case is all devices external to the supply output (leads,
    TSP solution, anode and cathode materials). The current output of
    this supply is not adjustable beyond the use of this CC button. 

    The current should only affect the speed at which the oxide film is
    formed.  I find that at lowest voltages it does take a little more
    time to color the piece.  Since power3Dcurrent x voltage (P3DIE),
    the power to form oxides is less because the supply is limited to 1
    amp of current.  After 10 volts or so, the piece/pieces color very
    fast. The voltage, not the current, determines the thickness of the
    oxide formation, and thus the color. 

    The voltage adjustment sensitivity is pretty decent.  I can adjust
    to tenths of a volt.  The supply sold at Reactive metals seems to
    have a much finer adjustment capability for both current and
    voltage.  These feactures might be good in a production environment.
     Also, this would be worthwhile if we knew the exact setting for
    each color, but there are too many other variables in the surface
    preparation to predict with any accuracy.  I bought a "how to" video
    tape from Toika Bridges ( http://www.artcraftworld.com/titanium.htm
    ) that is excellent, and she recommends experimenting to correlate
    voltage with color. 

>           Are you thrilled with the performance (and have you used
>     some other unit for comparison)? 

    Yes! I was concerned that 1 amp might not be enough.  All the how
    literature used 2 amp supplies or more.  I took a financial risk
    buying the lower amp supply, and was blown away at how well it
    worked.....I had to share my experience. 


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