6061 Bar Stock - Better Mill Finish Grade?

I have a product I'm working on. We started off with the idea of using 8020 extrusions but have now switched to standard bar stock.

Is there a 6061 bar stock line that has a better finish than standard extrusions? I suppose it would need to be wrapped for protection from the mill. We'll probably tumble these parts to try to get the finish we want then they will be anodized. It would be nice to not have to machine all sides though.

Manifold grade is what we use
Don


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Yea I use manifold grade a lot too but the the mill finish is pretty hit and miss. What I'm after is something that comes with a finish like you'd see on a commercial door frame or similar.

I've no direct experience with these guys, but they offer anodized bar off the shelf. I'd presume that means a better surface finish before anodize, but you could contact them for confirmation.

Aluminum Flat Bar | Aluminum Flat Bar Extrusions | Eagle Mouldings

I make fixtures for holding extrusions that get a brushed finish. My customer has machines that are similar to a drum sander. There is a shaft spinning a scotchbrite drum there is a conveyor belt underneath the drum that carries the parts under the drum. The fixtures I make are made of wood to hold the parts so the faces get a nice finish. These are High end consumer products that finish is very critical. Perhaps you could do something similar to your faces that are not machined.

For some lower volume parts or ends of long parts they just have a buffing lathe with similar drums that they use to finish manually. Finishing just before you anodize also means you don't have to be quite as careful not to scratch the parts while machining.

Good prospects. Thanks