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Photo etching provides a fast, flexible and relatively inexpensive
way to produce a wide variety of precision metal
parts. We can etch many different types of metal,
including specialty materials
like molybdenum, soft magnetic alloys, and metal-clad
ceramics, rubber and Kapton. Applications for etched
components range
from aerospace, medical, and electronics to Christmas
tree ornaments and scale models of railroads, villages
and ships.
Photo Photo etching Advantages:
Phototools, used in photochemical machining, replace
conventional steel tools and dies. Phototools can be generated
in a matter of hours from a customer-supplied CAD drawing
or data file. Most tools range in price from $185 to $350.
Phototools can be rapidly and inexpensively regenerated to
accommodate revisions to parts. Prototyping cycles can be
reduced from weeks to days compared to hard tooling.
Photo etching has similarities to a printing
process in that the part designs can be immensely intricate
without having an impact on the tooling or production process.
Photo etching can produce complex parts that would be either
impossible or impractical to produce by stamping or laser
cutting. The etching process produces parts that are free
of burrs and mechanical stress.
Raw materials are thoroughly cleaned before imaging;
after etching, and after stripping and before and after any
subsequent metal finishing processes.
Photo etching imparts no mechanical stresses
on metal substrates. Where stamping, punching and die-cutting
impart shearing deformation and laser and water-jet cutting
can leave ablative deformation, photochemical machining simply
dissolves the unneeded metal, leaving a flat and burr-free part.
The phototool is the foundation of accuracy. A phototool
is like a stencil. Its only working exposure is to light. So
there is no “tool wear” that needs to be monitored.
Phototools are produced on a heavy gauge and dimensionally stable
mylar using an 8000-dpi photoplotter. The locational tolerances
for part features typically meet the nominal dimensions of the
specification.
Dimensional tolerances are a function of the thickness of the
material. Typically, dimensions can be held to +/- 10% of the
thickness of the material.
Photo etching is suitable for a wide
range of metal gauges. The practical range of thickness for
ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and molybdenum, is .0005” to
.065”. Conard has developed a specialty in etching aluminum
alloys in gauges up to .100.”
From initial tooling to finished parts,
the entire photol etching cycle can be completed
in 3 to 5 days. Given a normal backlog,
typical lead times for new parts are 3-4
weeks. Often, repeat orders can be processed
more quickly, especially if we have the
raw material in stock. Prototypes orders
may be done in 2 weeks. Additional time
is required to accommodate secondary operations
such as plating, forming, heat-treating,
silk screening, assembly, or the addition
of surface components.
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Advantages
of Photo Etching
