Photo Chemical Etching Presentation
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Since 1977, Lancaster Metals Science Corporation has met
industries' need for precision metal parts and components
through its photo chemical machining manufacturing
services.
Processes include Metal Etching & Photo Chemical Etching.
Lancaster Metals Science has produced for applications in
electronics, electro-mechanical devices, optics, medical and
surgical instruments, aerospace, telecommunications, and
defense.
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Photo Chemical Etching
Continuous Reel to Reel Metal Etching
Large Panel Processing
Design and Production with Photo Chemical Machining
EMI/RFI Shielding
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1st Step – Pre-Cleaning Material
◦ Cleaning metal foils for photoresist application is usually a two
step process, the first step being an alkaline cleaner to remove the
organo-metallic film, and the second step being an acid to
remove any remaining oxides.
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2nd Step – Coating Material
◦ Cleaned material is then coated either on one or both sides with a
photo-resist film coating such as an acid-resist photopolymer
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3rd Step – Exposing Material
◦ Coated material is then exposed by ultraviolet light on one or
both sides through high resolution film negatives called “tooling”.
All clear areas of the photo tooling allow light through to the
resist which polymerizes or “crosslinks” in the exposed areas. The
black areas of the tooling prevent exposure.
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4th Step – Developing
◦ The exposed sheets are sent to developing where they are loaded
onto a transport conveyor. The sheets then travel through a spray
chamber where a tightly controlled (temperature & pH) aqueous
developing solution selectively dissolves only the un-polymerized
areas of the exposed sheet.
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5th Step – Etching
◦ Spray tubes channel heated reagent (acid) to spray nozzles that
disperse the fluid evenly over the top and bottom surface of the
metal sheets. As the sheets travel through the etcher, the exposed
metal areas start to dissolve and at the end of the process, all
unwanted metal is gone and only the finished part, still protected
by the photo resist, remains intact.
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6th Step – Stripping Photo Resist
◦ The etched sheets are processed through a stripping machine that
removes the resist using a heated solution of caustic and water.
Once stripped of resist, the parts are rinsed multiple times and
dried in a turbo dryer. The clean, dry parts are delivered to our
Quality Inspection department.
Capabilities and Tolerances
Capabilities and Tolerances
Capabilities and Tolerances
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Most Metals and Alloys Including Stainless Steels, Copper and
Aluminum. Secondary Operations Including Plating, Forming, Heat
Treating
Prototype to Production Quantity Capability Material Thickness From
.0025mm to 1.6mm
Copper, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze, brass, mild steels, 300 and
400 series stainless steels, precipitation hardening steels, aluminum
and its alloys, nickel, monels, inconels, kovar, molybdenum, and nickeliron magnetic alloys with high permeabilities.
thicknesses less than .001" to metal sheets with thicknesses up to
.125".
Capabilities and Tolerances
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Most Metals and Alloys Including Stainless Steels, Copper and
Aluminum. Secondary Operations Including Plating, Forming,
Heat Treating
Prototype to Production Quantity Capability Material
Thickness From .0001" to .125”
Copper, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze, brass, mild
steels, 300 and 400 series stainless steels, precipitation
hardening steels, aluminum and its alloys, nickel, monels,
inconels, kovar, molybdenum, and nickel-iron magnetic
alloys with high permeabilities.
thicknesses less than .001" to metal sheets with thicknesses
up to .125".
Reel to Reel Photo Imaging – OLEC AX28
 At the heart of Lancaster Metals’ reel-to-reel etching is the ability to
image continuous strip. In 2007, this capability was up-graded with a
new reel-to-reel print line that is the only operational unit in the world
outside Asia.
 Lancaster Metals is able to achieve a high degree of precision in panel to
panel continuity through the use of optical targeting. After a panel is
imaged, precise linear motors advance the work to the next panel.
Lancaster Metals has developed a system of fiducial markings that
when imaged and etched on the work itself serve, with only visual
inspection, to confirm alignment and to indicate, within an accuracy
of 13 micro-meters (.0005”), any deviation from nominal
dimensions. In double sided exposure applications, the panel
locating and positioning cameras – capable of measuring down to 1
micro-meter (40 micro-inches) – also ensure top to bottom tooling
registration.
Reel to Reel Photo Imaging – OLEC AX28
Main Features:
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Located in a Class 10,000 clean room with temperature and
humidity controls, the new reel-to-reel print linefeatures:
Single and double sided exposure capability.
Material widths from 150 to 500 mm (6" to 20")
Dual 8000 watt high intensity illumination with hybrid
collimation.
Completely automatic and programmable operation with PLC
and computer control
Photo Chemical Etching Presentation