Chemical etching suppliers provide chemical etching services. Chemical etching uses chemicals to remove unwanted material from the piece, similar to other processes like stamping and laser cutting. However, photo etching can also produce parts that would be unattainable or uneconomical using other methods.
How Chemical Etching Works
The part is first printed with a photoresist. This protects the areas that won’t be removed. It is developed, then the chemical is applied. This removes the desired areas. The photoresist is then removed. Photo etching can produce tolerances of ± .01 mm, and it is effective for very thin parts that are hard to work with using other methods.
What are the Benefits of Chemical Etching Suppliers?
Chemical etching doesn’t stress the metal like other processes. There is no heat or high pressure involved. This also allows the metal to maintain its original properties.
Many processes can leave burrs or cause shearing or ablative deformations. Chemical etching dissolves the unwanted material without effecting the desired part. This prevents burrs and deformations. This can save time during the manufacturing process and create a higher quality part.
Consistency is another benefit of photo etching. Processes that require tooling will change over time due to wear of the tooling. The etching process allows for high consistency by eliminating tooling variables.
Chemical etching is also suitable for prototypes and small runs. There is no expensive or time-consuming set up required to produce a specific part. The process is largely automated, which makes it easy to make needed changes. For small runs and large production runs, chemical etching is often less expensive than other methods.
Chemical etching suppliers are able to create intricate parts. This can include multiple layers for multidimensional manufacturing. Score lines for folding the metal can be created as well. Intricate parts are often more expensive to manufacture, but chemical etching costs often remain the same regardless of the complexity.
What Can be Created with Chemical Etching?
Chemical etching is used within many industries. Metal filters and sieves are often created with chemical etching. It can be used to create medical devices like pacemakers, electronics components, speaker grilles, and automotive parts. Photo etching is very common in the aerospace industry because of its ability to create complex parts with very low tolerances and provide consistency. Many small thin parts can be manufactured with a chemical etching supplier.
