Copper Sheet Etching

Laser cutting copper is a subtractive manufacturing technology that uses a high power laser beam to cut flat sheet materials.

Copper sheet etching.

I love the resulting detail. I was looking a while for a good set of instructions for electric copper etching and found a quite good instruction at jake von slatts steampunkworkshop and decided to refine it a bit and create an own instruction set in german. 4 start your etch. First invented simply as a method of replicating an image intaglio printmaking has evolved over centuries into an art form in it s own right.

Then put the sheet with the print towards the copper on the plate and apply it with high. Brass or copper to etch. For example punching in the stamping process can cause deformation especially with smaller and or numerous apertures. After this check the traces remove any unwanted copper between the traces using a scratch pen.

The high precision laser vaporizes a cut line through the copper leaving a 90 degree high quality cut edge finish. These are fun to etch but i advise starting with something smaller. You can cut your own pieces from copper sheet or purchase pre cut brass or copper stamping blanks. Etch the resulting beads and bezels exactly the same way you etched the copper sheets.

Buff the surface with steel wool once the etchant has been neutralized and rinsed away. A computer directs this laser to follow the cutting line provided in your digital design. 5 rinse clean inspect the pcb. 8 steps to copper etching.

Place the cu clads in the ferric chloride fecl3 solution for around 5 8 minutes. I highly recommend stamping blanks unless you have a trusty pair of metal shears and a metal hole puncher. The time for etching will depend on the levels of temperatures and the thickness of the copper sheet. Firstly make sure you re wearing safety glasses and wearing appropriate gloves to protect yourself from any spillages of the acidic solution you ll be using.

Create patina for your beads. You can also find brass bracelet blanks. Because copper is a softer metal some sheet metal fabrication processes may compromise the structure of the part. Clean and dry it thoroughly to remove any residue that might inhibit the etching process.

Safety first when learning how to acid etch copper sheet it s best to follow some basic safety steps to avoid the possibility of injury. Now that you have the blank copper sheet set the next step is to choose a design and put it in a resist either through cutting or printing.