how do you do photo etch at home?

raser13 · Post by **raser13** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:24 pm

i know most of the chemicles involved are pretty caustic.but i've heard some of you mention that you have done your own at home. ho do you do that? is it compicated? or just to dangerous for the average person?

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:50 pm

raser13 wrote:i know most of the chemicles involved are pretty caustic.but i've heard some of you mention that you have done your own at home. ho do you do that? is it compicated? or just to dangerous for the average person?

Here's an article I wrote for Starship Modeler. Regardless of the method you use, there will be some caustic chemical involved. It's just a matter of focusing on what you're doing and thinking twice before doing it. Storage and disposal are critical as well - you don't want a spill that'll stain everything it comes in contact with for the rest of eternity (ferric chloride), or a damaged sewage system (all chemicals ) or poison a child or pet (or yourself).

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 3:24 pm

are you sure about that frank? (the chemical thing) i've got a functioning etching set up using nothing but saltwater, electricty and a laser printer to get the image on the brass...

admittedly, i haven't used it for making parts yet, as thats not my goal... but i see no reason it couldn't.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:40 pm

Arklan wrote:are you sure about that frank? (the chemical thing) i've got a functioning etching set up using nothing but saltwater, electricty and a laser printer to get the image on the brass...

Electroetching doesn't have dangerous chemicals (copper sulphates probably work better than saltwater l...) but you're still dealing with serious and potentially deadly or harmful currents. So you either get a chemical burn or you get electrocuted if you're careless. Pick one.

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:02 pm

ah. true enough. the electrical current invovled is slightly... spark worthy... hehe.

and yea, it would work better with copper sulfate... but i don't want to deal with the disposal and such.

raser13 · Post by **raser13** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:42 pm

power is not a problem. my dads a electrician and i've helped him out a few times.(been zaped a few too) so i know how to respect power,cause i know she don't respect you.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:01 pm

raser13 wrote:power is not a problem. my dads a electrician and i've helped him out a few times.(been zaped a few too) so i know how to respect power,cause i know she don't respect you.

If that's the case, electroetching might be a better bet. I haven't tried anything "serious" with it, but the results are about the same as with chemical etching.

Do yourself a big favor - regardless of the etching method, get yourself a hot laminator if you're going to do toner transfers. The $100 - $130 laminators are good, the $50 - $80 ones, not so much.

If you go with electroetching, get (or build) a good adjustable power supply - regulated if you can - and with short circuit protection. When etching, if you accidentally etch through a support (or if the solution starts to bubble) you can get a short across your supply, and that would not be good.

Frank

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pm

i picked up a labratory power supply, with adjustable volts and amps, for about 80 off frys.com for my eletroetching.

also, some intro info (and links to expanded info) can be found over at www.steampunkworkshop.com

also, regarding the toner transfer, i'm using some stuff designed for the homebrew circuitboard set called press n peel blue, available for about a dollar a sheet at techniks.com, i think it is. just google "pressn n peel blue" if i got it wrong...

that stuff... ya just stick it in a laser printer, print your image, then place the press n peel on the metal sheet, and iron it for about 5 minutes or so. then rinse in water and peel the sheet back. the toner will be transfered, and the metal set to be etched.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Thu May 01, 2008 3:42 pm

Arklan wrote: also, regarding the toner transfer, i'm using some stuff designed for the homebrew circuitboard set called press n peel blue, available for about a dollar a sheet at techniks.com, i think it is. just google "pressn n peel blue" if i got it wrong...

that stuff... ya just stick it in a laser printer, print your image, then place the press n peel on the metal sheet, and iron it for about 5 minutes or so. then rinse in water and peel the sheet back. the toner will be transfered, and the metal set to be etched.

Press N' Peel Blue is what I use, but it just peels off the brass; you don't have to soak it. They have Press N' Peel wet which does require a soak. It's better for front panels and decals.

I know they tell you on the Tekniks site to "just iron" the stuff on, but I've been using Press N' peel stuff for about 14 years and unless you use it regularly and build up plenty of experience (experience = $$ in lost sheets), you're going to get mediocre transfers with an iron. It's OK if you're only doing art and don't mind gaps in the artwork, but for PCBs and photoetch, an iron is just too much work. A Laminator is faster (less than 30 seconds with two passes) and you get much, much better results.

Frank

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Thu May 01, 2008 3:44 pm

i menat to just run it under water to cool it, not soak. you're right, it just peels off the brass.

and, wow. the laminators sound like a grand idea, if they work that well. any particular suggestions?

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Thu May 01, 2008 5:59 pm

Arklan wrote:
and, wow. the laminators sound like a grand idea, if they work that well. any particular suggestions?

The one I mentioned in my article is no longer made. The replacement seems to be the H210.

Harbor Freight has a slave-made one that gets up to 275F for $43. Although it says 0.3mm per minute, the manual says it takes about a minute for a 12" sheet of paper - not 15 hours. So it's probably 0.3mm a second.

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Thu May 01, 2008 6:13 pm

hmm... looking at the specs, seems i might have an issue using the thickness of brass i have been. .032 is what i've got currently, for artistic etched plates... could probably work with thinner, just haven't ran out of the first order yet. i'll have to experiment with thinner sheets that could be run through one fo these machines before i think of getting one.

thanks for the info frank.

Justicar · Post by **Justicar** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:42 am

Serendipitous timing...

I'd like to do a small production run of etched parts (photo or electric, doesn't matter to me since I don't know the difference). I read Frank's tutorial and it seems simple enough (with practice), but I'm not inclined to buy hardware that I won't ever use again.

Is anyone here interested in a small lot production job? Thanks.

Arklan · Post by **Arklan** » Fri May 02, 2008 3:40 pm

i'm still experiemtning with getting things set up so i can get good consistent results... but once i have things figured out, i'd be interested.

...however, i'm also possibly going to be changing jobs and moving pretty quick here, so between the various factors, probably bestto forget i said anything.

good luck finding someone to help though.

Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

how do you do photo etch at home?

how do you do photo etch at home?

Re: how do you do photo etch at home?