ETCHED PARTS
- Thread starter muns
- Start date
Fizzle, fizzle, fizzle.
yes I recall reading about that experimental sub. It was actually some sort of underwater jet and Hydrophone operators in the UK described the sound of it as "a whale farting"ROSS said:Rhinochugger said:I always thought that peroxide blondes were highly volatile
...The Germans powered a U Boat with the stuff end of WW2...not for long tho.....(The Walther boat...17 knots UNDER water!)
The etching process tho is a safe way to etch....ever seen what Ferric Chloride does to a metal foil tray?(Dont ask...........)
I have tried the Peroxide 2 parts Hydroclhoric acid one part echant with mixed results....
A few things are essential irrespective of the echant one uses.
1) agitation, the echant has to be constantly agitated by air bubbling usually or the results are very ordinary.
2) the item being etched has to be suspended in the echant, not just left sitting resting on the bottom, once again unless the etchor can flow uniformly around the etchee the results can be very ordinary...
Yep the H2O2 is really good to clean out your ears too....
Etching parts for Amatuers 101
I need a few etched plates for the tramway so I thought I?d draw on previous experience and make my own.
With the exception of the raw materials and Aquarium air pump the etching apparatus is of my own manufacture?? Heres a very clever guy etching a cooper plate on Utube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NQjAC4_T5E
So to do the job you will need;
[*] Something to etch a design. I drew mine up using a simple cad program.[*] Some resist ensuring you only etch what you want etched. I have a positive liquid resist and negative dry film all via eBay and both work quite well?.[*]Something to etch in, a tank. I made mine from some glass sheet held together with silicone, but any non metallic container can be used?[*]Something to etch with. I have both ferric chloride and Hydrogen Peroxide 2:1 with Hydrochloric Acid. Both work well and both can be ?recharged? though I have now a preference for the H2O2/HCL as it is a lot cleaner http://www.instructables.com/id/Stop-using-Ferric-Chloride-etchant!--A-better-etc/ ?.[*]A modicum of skill and patience.
So to start?. Ok these are sort of logical order steps but using your modicum of skill you will see that some can be performed simultaneously?.
[*] Draw up your ?artwork?. Depending on what whether you?re going to use positive or negative resist will determine how you will draw it up. I use a simple cad program and work as big as I can get so that I can shrink it down to the size of the finished job to expose and then etch. I print mine out using OHP film in an inkjet printer set to highest levels of ?Darkness? and ?Contrast?; we want no grey areas here at all. You can see the finished result in the pictures.[*]The NEXT IN STEPS HAVE TO BE DONE IN SUBDUED LIGHT so as to avoid exposing the resist before we even start.[*]Apply your resist to the brass. Firstly though the brass has to be chemically clean. I use Gumption and a plastic scourer, when it?s clean do not touch it with your fingers or allow it to become dirty before applying the resist?. The instructions for applying the resist are included with the product.[*]Expose the resist. Times vary from product to product but I used around 5 mins with a compact flouro desk lamp. Clamp the artwork printed side down against the resist coated brass under a suitably sized piece of clean glass; this can be seen in the pic. I held the sandwich together with some small bulldog clips. Over exposure is the real problem here. If the plate is overexposed then removal of the unwanted resist is difficult?.[*]Develop the resist. Dunk it into the developer that came with the resist and I find that if I very gently ?massage? the image with a cotton bud things happen more efficiently and all the unwanted resist is removed. If small amounts of unwanted resist remain, even the thinnest coating the etch will not work in that area. Some experimentation here is a good idea the resist can be wiped away with a bit of Acetone then the brass cleaned again and another attempt can be made?.[*]Ok so let?s assume all is looking good at this stage, you have a brass plate with either a positive or negative image on it in resist. At this stage I coat any larger areas with latex masking solution and also the back of the sheet and the edges. This prevents them being etch away and provides a rubbery grip for my cleverly designed ?O? ring sprung clothes pegs?.[*]Into the etch tank?. Suspend your plate in the tank in your chosen etchant and agitate. This is where the aquarium pump and air-stone come in handy. To etch down say 10 thou will take maybe an hour depending on the temperatures and an hour is a long time to stand there wiggling your thing around in the etchant. If the agitation stops so will the etching? DO NOT TRY AND ACELERATE this process by heating the etchant as fine detail will soon be etched away. You can lift it out occasionally to see how things are progressing and when you are deep enough leave it out. Don?t let the job sit on the bottom of the tank but suspend it in the etchant so that it can flow around and wash away the etched bass.[*]Finish off the job by washing in hot water and then remove the remaining resist with either the resist remover that came with the resist or alternately dunk in a little acetone, dry off and marvel at your work? Trim from the sheet taking care to protect the etched surface, I slap on some of the previously mentioned latex masking?.[*]You can give the job a coat of clear lacquer to protect it or you may have to infill some areas with colour, this I have clear lacquered as its sposed to represent a cast bronze plaque.[*]There it is finished on it?s piece of Ballast taken from the Loop at Coogee Beach around 1960.
I have a lot of etch forming to do on this project and I will be using double sided artwork with resist on both sides so that undercut will be minimized and I?m just a tad reticent, experiments left me with a pile of small brass ?things? in the bottom of the tank?. I don't think I'd compete with the professionals though.
Sorry the pictures are out of cronological order......
I need a few etched plates for the tramway so I thought I?d draw on previous experience and make my own.
With the exception of the raw materials and Aquarium air pump the etching apparatus is of my own manufacture?? Heres a very clever guy etching a cooper plate on Utube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NQjAC4_T5E
So to do the job you will need;
[*] Something to etch a design. I drew mine up using a simple cad program.[*] Some resist ensuring you only etch what you want etched. I have a positive liquid resist and negative dry film all via eBay and both work quite well?.[*]Something to etch in, a tank. I made mine from some glass sheet held together with silicone, but any non metallic container can be used?[*]Something to etch with. I have both ferric chloride and Hydrogen Peroxide 2:1 with Hydrochloric Acid. Both work well and both can be ?recharged? though I have now a preference for the H2O2/HCL as it is a lot cleaner http://www.instructables.com/id/Stop-using-Ferric-Chloride-etchant!--A-better-etc/ ?.[*]A modicum of skill and patience.
So to start?. Ok these are sort of logical order steps but using your modicum of skill you will see that some can be performed simultaneously?.
[*] Draw up your ?artwork?. Depending on what whether you?re going to use positive or negative resist will determine how you will draw it up. I use a simple cad program and work as big as I can get so that I can shrink it down to the size of the finished job to expose and then etch. I print mine out using OHP film in an inkjet printer set to highest levels of ?Darkness? and ?Contrast?; we want no grey areas here at all. You can see the finished result in the pictures.[*]The NEXT IN STEPS HAVE TO BE DONE IN SUBDUED LIGHT so as to avoid exposing the resist before we even start.[*]Apply your resist to the brass. Firstly though the brass has to be chemically clean. I use Gumption and a plastic scourer, when it?s clean do not touch it with your fingers or allow it to become dirty before applying the resist?. The instructions for applying the resist are included with the product.[*]Expose the resist. Times vary from product to product but I used around 5 mins with a compact flouro desk lamp. Clamp the artwork printed side down against the resist coated brass under a suitably sized piece of clean glass; this can be seen in the pic. I held the sandwich together with some small bulldog clips. Over exposure is the real problem here. If the plate is overexposed then removal of the unwanted resist is difficult?.[*]Develop the resist. Dunk it into the developer that came with the resist and I find that if I very gently ?massage? the image with a cotton bud things happen more efficiently and all the unwanted resist is removed. If small amounts of unwanted resist remain, even the thinnest coating the etch will not work in that area. Some experimentation here is a good idea the resist can be wiped away with a bit of Acetone then the brass cleaned again and another attempt can be made?.[*]Ok so let?s assume all is looking good at this stage, you have a brass plate with either a positive or negative image on it in resist. At this stage I coat any larger areas with latex masking solution and also the back of the sheet and the edges. This prevents them being etch away and provides a rubbery grip for my cleverly designed ?O? ring sprung clothes pegs?.[*]Into the etch tank?. Suspend your plate in the tank in your chosen etchant and agitate. This is where the aquarium pump and air-stone come in handy. To etch down say 10 thou will take maybe an hour depending on the temperatures and an hour is a long time to stand there wiggling your thing around in the etchant. If the agitation stops so will the etching? DO NOT TRY AND ACELERATE this process by heating the etchant as fine detail will soon be etched away. You can lift it out occasionally to see how things are progressing and when you are deep enough leave it out. Don?t let the job sit on the bottom of the tank but suspend it in the etchant so that it can flow around and wash away the etched bass.[*]Finish off the job by washing in hot water and then remove the remaining resist with either the resist remover that came with the resist or alternately dunk in a little acetone, dry off and marvel at your work? Trim from the sheet taking care to protect the etched surface, I slap on some of the previously mentioned latex masking?.[*]You can give the job a coat of clear lacquer to protect it or you may have to infill some areas with colour, this I have clear lacquered as its sposed to represent a cast bronze plaque.[*]There it is finished on it?s piece of Ballast taken from the Loop at Coogee Beach around 1960.
I have a lot of etch forming to do on this project and I will be using double sided artwork with resist on both sides so that undercut will be minimized and I?m just a tad reticent, experiments left me with a pile of small brass ?things? in the bottom of the tank?. I don't think I'd compete with the professionals though.
