Design Guide for Photochemical Machining
When designing or specifying photo-etched/chemically machined parts, there are certain guidelines which will help expedite your project.
PEI presents this Design Guide to help generate prints which take the etching process into consideration. Data are given for a variety of metal thicknesses. These data are generally applicable to the equipment, processes, metals and configurations. They do not, however, define the ultimate capabilities of photochemical machining.
If your specifications do not agree with any part of this guide, please contact your PEI sales engineer for advice.
Due to the nature of the etching process and the inherent undercutting at the edges of the resist pattern on the surface, all dimensions, tolerances and configurations are a function of the part thickness, the material itself and, to a lesser extent, the process variables.
In the sections which follow, data is given for a variety of metal thicknesses. This data is generally applicable to the equipment, processes, metals and configurations. They do not, however, define the ultimate capabilities of photochemical machining.