Aluminium Shells for a Global Atomisation Technology Leader

Client	A global atomisation technology leader
Sector	Atomisation Technology
Region	China, supplying global markets
Programme	Atomisation device aluminium shells

Client identity is described by market position rather than by name, in line with our confidentiality commitments.

Aluminium shells for atomisation devices, with anodised colour consistency held above 99.5% pass rate — on a product where the enclosure is the brand.

The challenge

On an atomisation device the enclosure is the product. Buyers judge it before they read a specification, and a visible colour shift between batches is a rejection in the premium segment even when the part is dimensionally perfect. Holding anodised colour consistency above 99.5% across volume is a substrate problem before it is a finishing problem.

What we did

Colour consistency engineered from the billet onward

The decisive factor is the starting surface. Ceramic-filtered, degassed and homogenised primary billet produces a uniform substrate, so the anodising line is not being asked to compensate for variation that was created upstream.

Polish-free route for a repeatable finish

Going straight to 180# blasting and anodising with no polishing stage removes both a cost and a source of variation — there is one less manual operation between billet and finished shell.

Physical colour standard agreed before production

For cosmetic parts we recommend approving a physical reference rather than relying on a Pantone or RAL number alone, then holding blasting grade, anodising parameters and sealing consistently to it.

High-volume inspection discipline

Colour pass rate was tracked against the agreed standard across the run rather than checked at first article only, which is what makes a 99.5%+ figure meaningful rather than anecdotal.

Results

Result	Measured
99.5%+	Anodised colour consistency pass rate
0	Polishing stages in the process route
180#	Blast grade before anodising

• Anodised colour consistency above 99.5% pass rate.
• Cosmetic shells supplied at volume with a controlled, repeatable finish.
• Polishing stage removed from the process route entirely.
• Colour standard agreed physically before production began.

Why it held in production

Every stage of this programme ran inside our own plant — tooling design, extrusion, CNC machining, surface treatment and assembly. That is the reason the result repeated rather than appearing once on a first article: when a parameter needs adjusting, we change it and verify it the same day instead of negotiating through a subcontractor. We hold ISO 9001 across the process, with wall thickness at ±0.02 mm against a GB standard of ±0.05 mm and cut-to-length at ±0.005 mm.

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