To fully understand how the cost of chemical etching is calculated, lets us explain the meaning of the term chemical etching cost. The cost of chemical etching covers raw materials, labor, machine, all expenses required for the administration to function effectively and all expenses incurred during the activity or project sometimes referred to as overhead expenses. For those looking for affordable chemical etching tool, Photo Fabrication has got you covered.
To be able to produce an image from a metal plate, there are a lot of processes involved. Firstly, the sheet is size is selected, thereafter cleaning, photoresist lamination, printing, developing, photo etching and stripping follows.
There are a few raw materials available on the market that is less expensive when compared to others. Needless to say, standard grades of stainless steel, nickel silver and brass will cost less when compared to standard alloys, such as beryllium, molybdenum, titanium and shape memory alloys.
The sheet size is also important. Part of the manufactured object are priced by the sheet which implies that the bigger the sheet size the higher the unit cost and the smaller the sheet size the lower the unit cost it gives. Smaller sheets have tight tolerance when compared to sheets that are larger in size.
During the process of etching, if the material is thick, it takes a longer time. Therefore the thickness of the material is significant in the cost of chemical etching. If the material is too thick, it will make the manufacturer to spend too much.
Labor is another cost element in etching as it tends to takes a reasonable amount of the total cost because all aspect of production involves labor.
Another important element in etch costing is quantity. Price decline when the quantity of sheet is reduced and then increases when the quantity of sheet increases as well.
With advancement in technology, chemical etching is easy and quick to produce. In large number of projects, Laser Direct Imaging is used. It makes it possible for a design to be duplicated in a single sheet.
The Chemical Etching Process
The chemical etching process is a very fast and easy process thereby proving to be advantageous to the manufacturer. Due to the all encompassing process, the etched parts over heated therefore, is produced in the right shape. More so, the material original property is retained.
Since it uses economical digital tools, mistakes are avoided even with the rapid production thereby prompting a high level of accuracy. It makes the design to appear very easy and make way for a high level of production. There is increase in the quantity of production because multiple parts can be etched at the same time. In the process of producing some certain parts the same procedure or process is repeated to produce multiple designs on the same sheet thereby making the production of larger quantity within a limited time possible. We can say confidently that the chemical etching process is a lot more beneficial to the manufacturer and economical too.