Find metal etching including metal acid etching, metal chemical etching and more. From photo etching and photo engraving to metal engravers, you will find the metal etching you need. Use the time-saving Request for Quote tool to submit your inquiry to all the metal etching services and companies you select.
Advanced Metal Etching helps to put your ideas to work by providing you with quality metal etching, photochemical etching, chemical etching, photo etching and etched metal parts. We serve a variety of industries, including electronics, computer, medical and aerospace.
Since 1974, Photo-Chem Etch has been a leading producer of high-quality products through the use of chemical milling. We offer photochemical etching, metal etching and metal chemical etching. We also offer plating, forming and custom-designed products from prototype to production. Contact us.
United Western, ISO 9001:2000-registered, provides photochemical machining of most metals, thicknesses from 0.0003" to 0.062", including cold roll steel, stainless, copper, nickel and aluminum alloys. We produce flat springs, lead frames, shielding, shims and more. We also offer forming and plating.
International Etching, honored by the US Small Business Administration and with the Rhode Island Small Business of the Year Award, specializes in photo-chemical machining or photo-etching — a superior way to fabricate thin metal precision industrial or decorative parts with complex geometries.
VACCO Industries uses precision photo etching, photo machining, chemical milling, metal etching and laser machining processes. Metal and polyimide products are small and large in size and quantities produced. We offer FDA and ISO 9001:2000 registrations and other in-house capabilities, including metal joining.
As an ISO 9001:2000-certified company, Great Lakes Engineering provides high-quality metal chemical etching and step etching. We also offer laser-cut stencils, mini handheld stencils, nickel plating deposition and our Cleankut™ electropolish process on stencils. Call for metal etching today!
Micro Parts (MPI) offers chemical milling of a variety of metals and alloys to meet your specifications. We offer metal etching, metal plating and metal finishing. Some typical parts we would produce by chemical etching are step lids, heat sinks, fluidic plates, radial springs, bus bars, etc.
We etch Nitinol, Titanium, SS, Copper, etc. for medical, electronics, aerospace and automotive. Precise, flexible, economic process; cuts metal burr-free without heat-affected zones. Thickness 0.0001 to 0.070. Prototype as well as Production capacity. ISO 9001-2000 Registered.
Metal etching, also known as “milling” or “machining,” is
the production of a depressed design on a metal plate by cutting lines
through a protective coating and then applying corrosive acid that removes
the metal under the lines. Sometimes the plates are smoked so that the
lines will be more visible. Etching is used to create metal industrial
parts that have many small grooves or holes and also as a decorative
finish on many metals. Metal etching can also help a metal to meet weight
demands by dissolving an appropriate layer of the surface. While metal
etching using acid remains the most common method, there are now many
others that do not employ the use of acid.
The acid used in metal etching services is controlled in several ways.
Most often, a hard, waxy, acid-resistant ground is applied to the plate.
A design is scratched into the surface with a sharp point, exposing lines
that are attacked by the acid. A soft ground is sensitive to pressure.
Paper is placed on the part. A pencil is then used to make the lines
of varying densities, which allows more or less acid through, depending
on the pressure applied. Faux-bite results from small amounts of acid
leaking through the ground, creating minor pitting and burning on the
surface. It can be removed by burnishing, polishing or smoothing the
surface.
A broad range of metals can be used during the acid-based processes,
such as stainless steel, copper, brass, nickel and silver alloy. Other
metals can be etched using gas or electric-based processes. If a metal
piece is in need of fine grooves, laser etching is often used. Abrasive
etching with high-compression air is another option. In this process,
abrasives such as aluminum oxide or sand are sometimes blasted in place
of laser technology when isolated areas are being worked. Photochemical
etching, which is the most common etching method, is a low-cost process
that provides high quality, fast turnaround and precision accuracy unavailable
in other etching processes. This process also allows flexibility in the
design of parts, as changes can be made quickly, simply and cost-effectively.
Examples of etched metal products in the medical field are stents, cathodes
and implants. Brake rotors and fuel cell plates are made for the automotive
industry. The sign and plaque industry heavily relies on the use of metaling
etching services. Jewelry production and other artistic portions of industry
use metal etching to create fine lines for intricate details. Photochemical
etching produces business cards, logo name plates, panel covers and promotional
items for the commercial sector. Metal etching services also create longer
lasting stencils for the woodworking and art fields.
Abrasive etching
is the process of using controlled, high-pressure compressed air to
direct an abrasive, such as sand or aluminum oxide, at the surface of
a material to create the etched effect.
Acid etching uses acid to engrave the surface of sheet metal.
Chemical etching uses acids, bases, and other chemicals to etch into the surface of metal.
Dry etching
refers to any etching process that does not employ the use of chemicals.
Electroetching
is an etching process that involves the use of chemicals, along with
the employment of direct electric current.
Laser etching
employs the use of a laser for the removal of a specified pattern on
a metal piece. Laser etching is often used in the jewelry industry.
Metal engravers are metal tools used to carve designs into metal surfaces.
Metal engraving is the process by which metal tools are employed to carve a design into metal.
Photo engraving uses photosensitive material that is resistant to acid and applies it to the surface of a metal sheet. Acid is then applied, creating an image by burning through the areas where the acid-resistant material is missing.
Photo etching,
the most common metal etching process and otherwise referred to as “metal
chemical etching,” “chemical milling,” “photochemical
etching,” “chemical etching” or "photochemical
machining," is the process in which a desired image is etched on
the surface of the metal part via a photosensitive template. The piece
is then exposed to an appropriate acid (or etchant) that removes a layer
of metal in areas left unprotected by the template, after which the
piece is cleaned and the photoresist template removed.
Reactive Ion Etching
(REI), also known as “plasma etching,” is a dry etching
technique. REI involves the use of electrical circuits and high-energy
gas made up of ionized particles containing fluorine or chlorine.
Sputter etching
is a type of REI etching but without the employment of ions.
Vapor phase etching
is a dry etch technique that uses reactive gases to achieve the desired
etching pattern.
Metal Etching Terms
Acid – A
substance that, when dissolved in water, forms a solution with a pH of
less than seven.
Bend Lines – Lines that are
partially etched into the surface of the metal, which aid in the bending
of the part in a subsequent operation.
Burn-In – The process of heating
a developed photoresist image until the resist coating becomes chemically
resistant.
Chemical Blanking – A term originally
used to refer to the process of photo chemical machining (PCM).
Chlorine Regeneration – A process
in which ferric chloride acid is regenerated to maintain high quality
acid for the etching process.
Coating – The dipping, rolling,
spraying, laminating, spinning, printing or flowing of the substrate surface
layer of a photoresist material in order to cover it with a resist.
Contact Printing – A photographic
process in which an image is transferred from one substrate to another.
Conversion Coating – The subjection
of a substrate surface to high temperatures or the pickling process in
order to improve photoresistant adhesion.
Dry Film Resist – Photoresist
in the form of rolled sheet laminate.
Etch Band Design – Designing
artwork for parts to be photochemically machined so that all shapes are
outlined with a controlled line to be etched.
Etchant – An acid used to dissolve
a layer of metal to form the component.
Fret – A series of etched parts
that are tagged into a frame. Blanks usually have several frets etched
into them.
Halogen – Non-metallic elements
fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine.
Intaglio – An image etched/sunk
into the surface of a piece.
Ion – An electrically charged
atom or group of atoms, the electrical charge of which results from a
neutral atom or group of atoms losing or gaining one or more electrons.
Liquid Resist – A photoresist
applied to the substrate by dipping, roller coating or spraying.
Photodiode – A device that receives
optical power and changes it into an electrical signal.
Photoresist – A material that,
when applied to any of a variety of substances, becomes sensitive to portions
of the electromagnetic spectrum and, when properly exposed and developed,
masks a portion of the material.
Spectral Sensitivity – The rate
of response of a photographic material to a particular range of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
Substrate – A structure that
underlies and supports or forms base material on which coatings are applied.
