What is Chemical Etching?
Chemical Etching is a technique of engraving that utilizes a high-temperature and high-pressure chemical spray to eradicate the material to make a permanently etched image on the surface of the metal or other particular material. A resist or mask is applied onto the surface of the selected material and it is selectively taken out hence exposing the metal to make the image that is wanted to be made. Apart from that, an etching machine would usually be used to harness the reaction that is corrosive between the material and the chemical and it also enhance the effect by boiling or heating the solution and spraying it at high pressure. The chemical that is sprayed will then functions to dissolves the areas of the metal that are unprotected to etch the atom of the material so that a smooth surface is produced.
What are the Benefits of Chemical Etching?
Chemical etching has a lot of benefits over hard tooling production processes like die cutting as well as stamping. It does offer wider design flexibility as well as the reduced costs of set up. The etching process will not cause any kind of mechanical damage to the material leaving parts stress and burr-free with absolutely no changes to the magnetic properties as well as the grain structure of the material. There is no expensive tool that is linked with the mechanical engraving technique. Chemical etching is ideal for almost every single type of metal that is available and it can process materials that can be considered to be very thin that may also prove hard to work with using other alternatives ways.
For industrial label applications as well as signage, chemical etching may produce products that are exceptionally good in terms of its durability and it offers a wide range of designs.
Low tool costs with better flexibility of design compared to hard tooling methodThe durability is exceptionally good for industrial labels and signageThe process can be repeated as many times as needed for a large volume productionStress and burr-free partsHas a tight tolerance that has the potential to manufacture components that has a complicated geometriesGrain structure, as well as the physical properties of the materials, remains unchanged
What are the Metals that can be Chemically Etched?
Most of the metals may be chemically etched if the metals are properly paired with the right equipment and etchant. Metals that can be chemically etched currently includes:
Brass
Stainless
Steel
Bronze
Copper
Titanium
Aluminum
Zinc
Molybdenum
NItinol
Silver
Nickel
Magnesium
Gold
Nickel
Silver