Photo Etching
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What is Photo etching?
Photo chemical etching is a high-quality, fast turn-around, and economical manufacturing process for precision and detailed metal parts such as screens, shields, grids, washers RFI/EMI Shielding, Filters, Lead Frames, Encoder Disks, Buss Bar, Flat Springs, Heat Sinks, Drive Bands, Electrical Contacts, Ribbon Shields, Laminates, Backplates, EMP grids, Signage, Plaques.
Our Photo Chemical Etching Process
Our Photo Chemical Etching (PCE) process consists of several important steps.
Each step is a critical prerequisite to the next.
Metal Etching Capabilities
| Industry Focus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerospace | Automotive | Industrial | Marine |
| Medical | Military | Optical | Electronic |
| Decorative | Commercial | Circuitry | Biomedical |
| Production Volume | ||
|---|---|---|
| Max: 1200-1800 square meter per day | ||
| Advantage of Custom Etching Factory | ||
| Specialty Production Shop | Prototype | Low Volume |
| High Volume | Developmental | Quick Turns |
| Industry Standard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001:2015 | |||
| File Formats | |
|---|---|
| AutoCAD (DWG, DXF) | |
| Part Dimension |
|---|
| According to customer's design |
| Metal Thickness | |
|---|---|
| Min : 0.02mm | Max : 2mm |
| Materials (Metals) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stainless Steel | |||
| Type 301 | Types 302/304 | Type 316 | |
| Aluminum | |||
| 1100 | 1145 | 3003 | 5051 |
| Pure aluminum alloy (1000 series) |
Aluminum-manganese alloy (3000 series) |
Aluminum-silicon alloy (4000 series) |
Aluminum-magnesium alloy (5000 series) |
| Copper | |||
| Brass Alloys | Copper Alloys | Bronze Alloys | |
| Advantage of Etching Material | |||
| Corrosion resistance | Structural stability | No burrs | |
Photochemical Etching (PCE) VS Traditional Sheet Metalworking
(Process comparison table)
| See how photo etching measures up with laser,stamping and waterjet cutting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Photo Etching | Laser Cutting | Stamping | Wire EDM ( WEDM) | Water Jet Cutting | Electroforming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sampling | Low cost | Low cost | High cost | Low cost | Low cost | Medium cost | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Metals | Nearly all metals | Nearly all metals | Nearly all metals | Conductive metals | Nearly all metals | Nickel and copper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hardness | No restriction | No restriction | Problems with soft, hard or brittle metals | Hardness is a consideration | Hardness is a consideration | Typically 200-670 HV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stress | No stress | Thermal stress on cutting edge | Stress at cutting edge | Deformation, tempering and structural changes may occur | Limited stress on cutting edge | Low-stress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Burrs | No burring | Micro burring | Partial burring | Micro burring | Micro burring | No burring | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tooling and design changes | Quick, easy and cost effective | Quick, easy and cost effective | Expensive and time consuming | Quick, easy and cost-effective | Quick, easy and cost- effective | Quick, easy and cost-effective | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Typical lead times | Seven days | Seven days | Six weeks - six months | Seven days | Seven days | Seven days | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tolerance as a percentage of metal thickness | ±10% | ±5% | ±10% | ±10% | ±15% | ±5% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Can parts be supplied in sheets for easy counting/handling? | Yes | Yes | Not easily | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||