Thanks in advance... I am an avid reader of this newsgroup (and
occasional contributor), and know how much knowledge exists in this
group.

I have some parts that are being extruded and will be hardcoat
anodized. They are posts that attach to an aluminum base to batch parts
in between processes... a robot will load/unload them from this pallet.
The surface finish on the posts should be smooth so as not to scratch
the parts if they graze them going in/out of the pallet. I am making
100 of these pallets, which works out to 3000 of these posts...

I am worried about surface roughness... I have seen some parts after
anodizing that are pretty smooth and some that were somewhat rough. Is
there any special preparation to ensure an Ra 32-40 microinch (give or
take) finish?

It seems that the anodizing process would inherently produce a somewhat
rougher finish than the bare metal as it creates a layer of oxide... is
there any suggstions for what finish I should spec on the bare
extrusion?

Any other suggestions along these lines... I am new to the extrusion
game. Any other coating suggestions? I need something that is hard,
durable and rather inexpensive. I have looked into Nyflor, a
Teflon-impregnated coating that is laid down after nickel, but the cost
of the coating was 5x more expensive than the total part cost w/
hard-anodize!

Thanks a million...

Adam S