| Photo Etching in Model Building |
| Monday, 18 September 2006 | ||||
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Up to now I used paper/foil and iron method. Now I see the difference! Here's how I did it....
Required materials:
Preparing the foil I have already written before in the text on etching itself about how to make the foils. You have almost full freedom in terms of design; however you have to stick to few rules:
I have tested laser and ink printers, and for etching ink printers are more suitable. Make sure you use proper foil; it must be transparent foil for ink jets! Otherwise printer ink will never dry. Well, perhaps it will but much longer, and will not stick to the foil properly.
Preparing metal plate
I find that part of work the most difficult and tricky and… time consuming. Photoresist varnish comes in a spray and should be used in sort of darkness, however full darkness is not required. Manual mentions that yellow light can be used. Well, I bought small 40 watts yellow bulb but still point it completely opposite direction when applying photoresist. The plate must be absolutely clean! To have slightly rough surface I sand it with water paper (1000), the paint will stick better to metal that way. Finally I apply the varnish on both sides of brass or copper plate and close it some box and let it dry till next day.
Exposure to UV (ultraviolet rays)
Developing Last step done in the dark. Exposed varnish must be developed and preserved. This is done by putting the plate in the solution of sodium hydroxide – NaOH (caustic soda). The one I had according to the manual I should have used 10g for 1 litre of water. It was too strong, I ended up with having around 5g per litre. This should be experimented. If solution is too strong, then all our work will be totally washed away. Assuming the solution is fine, after 10-20 seconds, our painted pattern should show up on the plate. Another minutes or so in the container, and plate should be cleaned with water.
Etching
And here are my photo etched letters already attached to the bulwark. They look fantastic!
Photo-Etching Service If you need some photo etched parts, sets to your model and you cannot do it yourself at home, please let me know. I will be happy to help you. All I need is the drawing ideally in CAD or CorelDraw. Should I have the drawings the whole thing will be easier. The price depends on the complexity and amount of manaterials used. In any case please contact me by email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or visit Photo Etching Service for a quotation.
Special etching machine at Conrad - vertical bath with air pump and solution heating system.
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 23 December 2007 ) | ||||
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