Metal Etching Process
What is Metal Etching?
Metal etching is a subtractive sheet metal machining process. Also referred to as photochemical machining or chemical etching, It employs chemical etchants to produce intricate and highly accurate precision components from virtually any type of metal.
What is the metal etching process?
Metal etching involves UV printing a component design onto photoresist-laminated sheet metal. The non-printed photoresist areas are removed, exposing the metal. Subsequently, the exposed metal is etched away, resulting in intricately shaped and precise components.
Metal etching benefits
Unlimited complexity at a fixed price
No expensive hard tooling required
Superfast, low-cost design iterations
Lead-times in days, not months
Suitable for virtually any metal
Accuracy to ±0.025mm
Comprehensive range of metals
Metal etching can be applied to virtually any metal, regardless of its hardness or temper. Annually, we process over 100 tonnes of sheet metal, covering more than 2,000 metal types – surpassing any other chemical etching supplier. This not only offers purchasing advantages to our customers but also ensures a wide variety of metals readily available in our stock.
Typical Etched Components
With our metal etching service, we cater to both one-off prototypes and high-volume production requirements. This versatility enables us to accommodate a wide range of specialist component applications.
PCB Shielding Cans
Flat Springs
Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers
Lead Frames
Electrical Connectors
Medical Devices & Instruments
Speaker Grilles
Electric Motor Laminations
Filters, Screens & Sieves
Custom Metal Shims
Bipolar Plates
PCB Shielding Cans
Flat Springs
Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers
Lead Frames
Electrical Connectors
Medical Devices & Instruments
Speaker Grilles
Electric Motor Laminations
Filters, Screens & Sieves
Custom Metal Shims
Bipolar Plates
PCB Shielding Cans
Metal etching FAQs
Metal etching is compatible with sheet metals ranging from 0.010 mm to 2.5 mm in thickness and up to 600 mm x 1500 mm in size. However, note that thicker parts may require longer etching times, making metals above 2.5 mm often uneconomical for processing.
Metal etching achieves excellent accuracy with standard minimum etching tolerances at ±10% of the metal thickness, down to a minimum of ±0.020 mm.
The minimum standard etched opening achievable is 0.1 mm, while for depth-etched features like microfluidic channels, it is 0.020 mm. Through further development, metal etching can achieve even finer features.
Metal etching provides the flexibility to produce components without any minimum or maximum quantity limitations, owing to the cost-effective digital tooling used. As a leading global sheet metal etching company, Precision Micro caters to diverse customer needs, delivering component quantities ranging from single units to millions.
Cost considerations in metal etching are influenced by material thickness and component size. Components are priced by the sheet, so maximising parts per sheet lowers unit prices. However, thicker sheets may require more etching time, affecting the overall component cost.
Metal etching lead times are measured in days, not weeks or months, setting it apart from traditional metal machining technologies. Depending on quantities and capacity, standard components with no additional post-processing can be delivered in under two working weeks, while urgent demands can be met even faster.
Chemical Etching Whitepaper
Learn how chemical etching can overcome the limitations of traditional sheet metal machining technologies.
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