Why Engineers and Designers Love Photo Etching
Published by
Kathleen Stillman
on
When Your Only Tool is a Hammer...
As the old saying goes, every problem looks like a nail. Modern solid modeling systems give engineers and designers of precision metal components a wide variety of options for fabricating their creations, whether it be stamping, punching, or digital cutting via laser, plasma or waterjet. However, none of these software platforms has any information at all about photo chemical machining.
We've met a good number of engineers over the years who needed to fabricate parts that weren't suitable or practical for any of the methods they --and their software--knew about. We have witnessed many looks of wonder, and even awe, when they realized that photo etching was not just the solution they needed, but was the best solution for their projects.
When They Keep Coming Back...
Could it be love?
One of our longest customer relationships goes back to the 1970s. We have produced tens of thousands of pieces for more than 400 different parts for them in the past 40-plus years.
In any given year, 80% of our business is from long-term customers. Last year, we shipped more than 2.3 million pieces of more than 600 unique parts to 170 customers.
Customers had us create nearly 200 new part designs last year.
What Do You Need to Know...
All of the "good stuff" is right here in the Comprehensive Design Guide.
It boils down to a few simple rules and ratios that are mostly common sense and a little bit of fluid dynamics. No months spent learning some massive and complicated system. You can begin your photo etching design career in minutes.
Is It Really True?
I wondered if I was engaging in confirmation bias in my assertion that when engineers and designers learn about the capabilities of photo etching, they look for every opportunity to make another photo-etched part.
I did a quick take among our most active precision customers and this is what I found:
- A customer in the RF/electronics industry has designed 172 etched parts
- A customer in the aerospace/electronics industry has 158 parts
- A customer in the RF/microwave sector uses 84 etched parts
- A job shop (laser and die cutting) has chosen the etched option 37 times
- A customer in thermal management tech uses 19 etched parts
- A customer in industrial springs has converted 31 parts to etching
- Microelectronics and semiconductor packaging components encompass more than 300 distinct parts
- We have produced more than 400 different braze foil pre-form designs for a number of customers serving aerospace applications.
- And, there are more than 500 etched designs used in power generation and storage applications.
We also have dozens of customers that have been buying the same handful of etched parts for years, and in some cases- decades.
And, while there may be some confirmation bias in my assertion, there is also evidence to support the contention that engineers who know about etching* use it as frequently as they can.
*You Can Be One (who knows about etching), too!
We can help.
Here's a link to our most popular white papers.
Or you can watch a 3 minute Youtube video here.
You can email your questions to me or Max.
And, we're still happy to talk on the phone: 800-443-5218.