PHOTOCHEMICAL ETCHING TECHNICAL DATA CAPABILITIES
Photochemical Etching Technical Data Capabilities
From Advanced Metal Etching
From Advanced Metal Etching
The photochemical etching technical data capabilities table below highlights our chemical etching machining capabilities and lowest tolerances achievable based on many variables such as metal thickness, special features such as holes and slots, and half-etched designs.
Our goal is to design a photo tool with as many parts per sheet of metal as possible. As a general rule of thumb, thicker material and tighter tolerances will require a smaller sheet yielding fewer pieces. On the contrary, thinner metal with an extended range of tolerances will increase sheet size and part pieces. Photochemical etching technical data capabilities are designed to achieve the lowest possible tolerance and the highest number of parts per sheet in order to save the customer time and money.
| Table 1 Etched Dimension Tolerances | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thickness (T) in inches | ||||||
| .001″ | .002″ | .005″ | .010″ | .015″ | .020″ | .040″ |
| Empirical | ±.0010 | ±.0010 | ±.0015 | ±.0020 | ±.0030 | ±.0050 |
| Table 2 Holes or Slots | |
|---|---|
| Metal Thickness (T) | Diameter or Width |
| .001″ -0.005″ | At least Metal Thickness, Minimum .003″ |
| .005″ or Over | Minimum of 1.1 times Metal Thickness |
| Table 3 Web or Finger | |
|---|---|
| Thickness (T) | Space Between Holes (W) |
| Less than .005″ | At least Metal Thickness, Minimum .003″ |
| Over .005″ | Minimum of 1.0 times Metal Thickness |
| Table 4 Center to Center Tolerances | |
|---|---|
| C/C Dimensions (inches) | Tolerance Attainable |
| 1.0″ or Less | ±.0005″ |
| 1.0″ – 3.0″ | ±.0010″ |
| 3.0″ – 6.0″ | ±.0020″ |
| 6.0″ – 10.0″ | ±.0030″ |
| Table 5 Half Etch Based on Material Thickness | ||
|---|---|---|
| A | B | C |
| 25% – 75% | 100% + | 25% |
What is Photochemical Etching?
Photochemical Etching is also called metal etching, chemical etching, chemical milling, photo etching, chemical etching, photochemical machining, chemical machining.
Photo etching is a process used in the creation of integrated circuits, which combines photolithography with the etching process. Photolithography is used to form patterns on semiconductor substrates coated with photoresist, resulting in selective developing of the photoresist, when exposed to ultra-violet light through a photomask. The substrate is then etched, during which process the developed photoresist serves as a barrier against the etchant, resulting in only the selected area being etched.
