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Main Advantages
Include
Short lead times (normal lead time is 5 working days)
Complex profiles, burr and stress free components
Ideal for rapid prototyping and mass production
Design changes and modifications rapidly and economically produced
Half etch fold lines for economical forming or half etch part marking
There are many different names for the process. The terminology is hard to standardise with these sorts of industries as people on one side of the world are finding out things at the same time as people on the other side of the world, but they may give it another name. We call the process Chemical Milling but it is also known as :- Photo etching, Photochemical milling, Photochemical machining, Photo milling, Photofabrication, or Chemical Blanking (in the USA).
The Chemical Milling process is used as a means to produce thin (up to approx. 3mm thick) metal components in all sorts of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. These components which would previously be made by conventional mechanical machining or blanking operations are cut to shape and size using acids to dissolve away the unwanted material, thus leaving you with components you require.
This is a process that offers many advantages over traditional machining methods. Chemically milled components are free from mechanical stresses, burrs, burnt edges or dross.
Low Cost Complex Shapes - There are also a lot of financial advantages to this process. It is just as easy for us to produce the most complex of shapes as it is to produce say the most simplest of shims.
Low Cost Tooling and Design Modifications - The only tooling used to produce chemically milled components is a set of precision photographic negatives which are produced on the industry's best drawing and design packages. Once drawn these designs are saved and can be printed off as and when required. This gives you the ability to change the part at any time if required without expensive tooling modification charges. In a lot of cases using hard tooling methods of production these modifications sometimes meant the job would need to be completely re-tooled.
Low Cost Forming and Part Marking - With this process you are able to surface etch detail into either one or both sides of a component this allows you to add detail to your components if required. Such detail could include anything from a part number, company logo, address, or even a picture. This process can also be used to inscribe lines onto the part which then allows you to form the part by hand as shown below.
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photochemical machining ¦ photo chemical machining ¦ photochemical milling ¦ photomilling ¦ photofabrication ¦ chemical milling