Our surface finishing capabilities
Use 3D Hubs as your one-stop solution for both manufacturing and surface finishing of your custom CNC machined parts, reducing the risk of production.
Do you need lettering logos or custom tags? Take a look at our part marking service here.
Choose the right finish for your material
Different surface finishes can be applied to different materials. Find below a quick cheat sheet of surface finish and material compatibility.
| Name | Material compatibility | Rough price increase* |
|---|---|---|
| Smoothing | All plastics and metals | +10% |
| Bead blasting | All metals | +5% |
| Powder coating | All metals | +15% |
| Anodizing clear (type II) | Aluminum alloys | +15% |
| Anodizing color (type II) | Aluminum alloys | +20% |
| Anodizing hardcoat (type III) | Aluminum alloys | +30% |
| Electropolishing | All metals | +15% |
| Black oxide | Stainless steel and copper alloys | +10% |
| Chromate conversion coating | Aluminum and Copper alloys | +10% |
| Brushing | All metals | +5% |
*Price increase estimates are based on one-off parts. Bulk pricing also applies to surface finishes.
Our standard surface finishes
Here is a list of standard surface finishes. For custom surface finishes such as electroplating or polishing, please contact sales@3dhubs.com.
As machined
Our standard finish is “as machined” finish. It has a surface roughness of 3.2 μm (126 μin). All sharp edges are removed and parts are deburred. Tool marks are visible.
Smoothing
A finishing CNC machining operation can be applied to the part to reduce its surface roughness. The standard smoothing surface roughness (Ra) is 1.6 μm (63 μin). This can be decreased down to 0.4 μm (15.7 μin) upon request and on a case-by-case basis. Machine marks are less evident but still visible.
Bead blasting
Bead blasting adds a uniform matte or satin surface finish on a machined part, removing the tool marks. This is used mainly for visual purposes and comes in several different grits which indicate the size of the bombarding pellets.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Grit | #100, #120 and #150 |
| Color | Uniform matte of raw material color |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing |
Anodizing color or clear (type II)
Type II anodizing is mainly used to produce parts with a uniform, aesthetically pleasing surface and provides good corrosion and limited wear resistance.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 8 - 12 μm (clear), 4 - 8 μm (color) |
| Color | Black, clear or any RAL code or Pantone number |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing |
Anodizing hardcoat (type III)
Type III anodizing provides excellent corrosion and wear resistance, suitable for functional applications.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 50 - 125 μm |
| Color | Black or clear |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing |
Powder coating
Powder coating is a strong, wear-resistant finish that is compatible with all metal materials and can be combined with a bead blasting to create parts with smooth and uniform surfaces and excellent corrosion resistance.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 18 - 72μm |
| Color | Black or any RAL code or Pantone number. |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing. |
Electropolishing
Electropolishing is an electrochemical process used to polish, passivate and deburr metal parts. It is useful to reduce surface roughness.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Color | Natural metal color. |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing. |
Black oxide
Black oxide is a conversion coating used to improve corrosion resistance and minimize light reflection.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Color | Black. |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing. |
Chromate conversion coating (Alodine/Chemfilm)
Chromate conversion coating is used to increase the corrosion resistance of metal alloys while maintaining their conductive properties.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Color | Clear or yellow. |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing. |
Brushing
Brushing is produced by polishing the metal with grit resulting in a unidirectional satin finish. Not advisable for applications where corrosion resistance is required.
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Surface roughness | 0.8 - 1.5 μm |
| Grit | #80-120 |
| Part masking | Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing. |
Dorien Sarsby
UK Strategic Account Manager
Jennifer Kaari
US Strategic Account Manager
David Nguyen
EMEA Sales Engineer
For businesses of all sizes
Get in touch with our team to access these services:
- Add 3D Hubs as a vendor
- ISO 9001, material certifications, test reports and full dimensional reports
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Urethane casting and part marking
- Design verification program (learn more)
- Dedicated account manager
Contact Sales or call us directly on
Get your parts machined and finished in as fast as 5 days
Upload your designs, select your material and surface finish and get your parts into production in less than 5 minutes.
