Copper Photo Etching

Copper photo etching is often used to offer high electrical and thermal conductivity to metal components.

Through our Photo Chemical Etching process, the smallest and most complex designs are made possible such as electrical spring contacts, contact membranes, busbars, antennae and micro antennae, spring fingered contacts, heating elements and battery terminal as well as many other bespoke components to your own designs. The Copper retains all of its properties, as well as remaining burr and stress-free following our etching processes. At Qualitetch, we can offer your bespoke designs in a wide range of copper and Beryllium copper non-ferrous metal specifications and hardnesses as required.

Photo etching is a versatile and precise manufacturing method widely used for creating intricate metal components from copper. Copper, celebrated for its exceptional conductivity, malleability, and corrosion resistance, proves to be an excellent material for this process, enabling the production of intricate and high-quality parts for various industries.

Copper, a highly conductive metal, is favoured in numerous applications where electrical and thermal conductivity are critical. Through the etching process, copper's innate properties are leveraged to fabricate precise and intricate components with exceptional accuracy and consistency.

The process begins with a meticulously prepared copper sheet. The metal undergoes thorough cleaning to eliminate contaminants, ensuring a pristine surface for subsequent stages. A light-sensitive photoresist material is then uniformly applied to both sides of the copper sheet, forming a protective layer.

Using phototooling techniques, an exact image of the desired component is transferred onto the photoresist through exposure to UV light. This exposure induces a chemical reaction in the photoresist, hardening the areas corresponding to the intended design while leaving the rest of the protective layer unaffected.

The copper sheet, now shielded by the photoresist mask, is submerged in an etchant solution—usually an acid or chemical compound—where the unprotected areas of the metal are selectively dissolved. This precise chemical erosion selectively removes material, leaving intricately designed components on the copper sheet.

Chemical etching offers unparalleled precision and versatility, enabling the creation of intricate patterns, fine details, and complex geometries on copper. It allows for exceptionally tight tolerances, ensuring uniformity and precision across batches of components.

The advantages of employing photo chemical etching on copper are manifold. It offers a cost-effective means of producing intricate and complex designs without requiring expensive tooling or extensive machining. Its flexibility facilitates rapid prototyping and efficient mass production, catering to both small-scale and large-scale manufacturing needs.

Moreover, the process retains the inherent properties of copper, such as its excellent conductivity and corrosion resistance. This ensures that the final components maintain their conductivity and integrity, making them ideal for applications demanding reliable electrical performance in various environments.

Components manufactured through chemical etching of copper find widespread use across industries. These include intricate electrical contacts and connectors in electronics, heat sinks for thermal management in computing devices, precise meshes and screens in filtration systems, and specialized components in aerospace and automotive technologies.

In conclusion, photo etching of copper is a sophisticated manufacturing technique that harnesses the exceptional properties of this metal to produce precise, durable, and complex components. Its ability to maintain copper's inherent qualities while achieving intricate designs with exceptional precision makes it an indispensable method across diverse industries.

Due to the high conductivity of Copper, the metal is often used for electrical, automotive and transmission components. One of its primary uses is for wiring and harnesses, especially within the automotive industry where many electrical components are manufactured from copper using the photo etching process.

The metal is cleaned once your design has been finalised, and the metal sheet covered with UV sensitive photo-resist before printing your design. The metal is then taken through a chemical bath with ferric chloride, which acid etches the design from the metal sheet to produce your finished precision components.

Any trace of UV photo-resist remaining is stripped and removed once the etching process has been completed – and your chemically etched metal parts are taken to our QA technicians for final dimensional approval.

Qualitetch offers a quick and efficient turnaround, even for the highest of demands, with a high level of accuracy and quality. If you would like more information on the photo chemical etching process of copper, please contact the team on 01354 658787.

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