The photochemical etching, often known as chemical etching, is the latest metal designing model using chemistry and photo-etch technologies. In this process, the concerned metal is completely cleaned and deoxidized for processing. Then a photochemical material is applied to a metal sheet, which is sensitive to light.
After the coating, the whole metallic sheet is exposed to UV exposure to create the customized scanned designs provided by the clients in DXF or CAD format. Areas exposed to the light become hard. And the dark areas become softer that are removed from the metal sheet, and we get the desired metallic designs.
The chemical etching process is quicker, more efficient, and burr-free than laser cutting and metallic stamping processes. You can get all metallic designs and signed labels on metallic sheets using this chemical etching technique. If you prefer chemical etching over laser cutting or metallic stamping, you will save hundreds of bucks for bulk orders.
Let’s see how much does photochemical etching costs.
- How Much Does Photochemical Etching Cost?
The overall cost of photochemical etching is based on several factors like the material of selective chemical etching metal, the thickness of metal, the photoresist and the relevant photo etching chemical, the concerned labor, and the other maintenance cost of this whole chemical etching process. Let’s dive into some deeper cost calculations per factor.
1. The Sum of Materials
The collective sum of concerned materials is a major factor that defines the overall cost of photochemical etching for a specific metallic design. Several materials are involved in the whole process, like a specific chemical etching metal, the cleansing agents, and the concerned metallic sheets. For example, Nickel and Brass would be cheaper than exotic metals like aluminum and steel.
2. Technical Costs and Process Time
There are many technical processes involved in the photo etching process like:
- Cleansing and deoxidizing the metal
- Smoothly applying a photo resistant chemical
- Passing through UV plates
- Drying and development.
Many technical machines are involved in the whole process. Further, the thick metals would take more time and consume more electricity than thin sheets. So advanced technical costs and the overall processing time increase the overall cost.
3. Overheads
There are several overheads or associated processes that stabilize the main process and improves efficiency. Several additional factors like managing a safer place and reliable metal transportation are needed for a smoother metal etching or photochemical machining to avoid any cracks or burr.
4. Labor
For any company, having efficient and responsible labor is important to maintain the product’s quality and avoid risks. Therefore, any bigger company won’t compromise on the labor cost for such sensitive processes like photochemical metal designing because there are many sub-processes like metal sizing, cleansing, printing, developing, etching, and stripping.
5. Standard Service and Administration Costs
There are some extra costs of standard service and administration involved to ensure the output quality. The UV exposure machines, covered plates, drying unit, development unit, and all the photochemical materials should be maintained, cleaned, and kept dust-free every time.
Photochemical etching is a better economical choice in metallurgy, where many specific metallic designs and tools are demanded every day. There are many other commercial uses of the chemical etching like brand signage and metallic labeling or product descriptive labeling over metallic sheets.
It is much more efficient and cost-effective than other laser cutting and metallic stamping techniques. Still, it demands extensive experience and sheer excellence to get the desired designs keeping the tolerance level minimum.
So, always choose an experienced photochemical etching supplier like TMN Etch that has been working for more than a decade and partnered with many famous brands like Panasonic, SONY, DELL, Huawei, Siemens, and Mercedes, etc. TMN Etch assures you the most accurate photochemical etching service.