Coating of Carbon Steel Plate for Etching

Is it going to be milled using cnc or etched?

Why does cnc need the design painted on workpiece?

it is etch then mill on the cnc machine...the painting represent the path for the cutter

OK.. for the next question: Why does CNC need the design painted on workpiece?

Fasten your seast belt, He is masking it off to etch, (he said etch first, then cnc mill...

paint = mask...

How's yer headache?

Have an aspirin..

Ahh, Go ahead and take 2:

Milo

Milo my friend. Where have you been? I have been banging my head all day, and I can sure use those headache pills. Thanks!

In original post, he is painting (masking) before etching, but the mask material is not dark/thick enough, and must be done twice. If I understand it right, this is his trouble... he is hoping to reduce this mask painting to one step.

In #2 he (I assume it is OP) tell us "it is etch then mill on the cnc machine...the painting represent the path for the cutter"

So the process is: paint mask (twice), etch, clean, then mill away the masked pattern on a CNC vertical mill? Cannot the mask/etch process be eliminated?

There must be something I have missed.... I have a headache.

milo...do you have any solution for the paint issue? as when the second layer is done with hand its not so accurate

The solution to your painting accuracy issue os to silk screen or use another photographic based process to allow the mask to be applied where you want it with a modicum of precision...

Like the others, I remain confused as to what the cnc mill is doing if the etch is removing all around the non etched features, and the nonetched features remain original plate thickness.

Milo

milo is right....the paint is masking the path that I don"t want to be etch and if you check my previous thread that was "Etching of carbon steel plate" you will see the result after etching process.

You're painting the cutting path onto the part? Why? 

yes I am painting the cutting path so that it is masked during etching and I will be able to decrease the other part that is not mask to a different thickness according the the customer need..for example if the original plate is 2.0 mm,after etching the other non mask region will be decrease may be to 1.2 for the base but the part under the paint will remain 2.0 mm

I am as confused as the other posters here as to why the etching step is necessary. If one is milling the part on a CNC machine, then the path followed by the part with respect to the cutting tool as it is being milled is defined by the instructions sent to the CNC machine, unless one is using some sort of CNC machine with inherent visual feedback (something I have never seen, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist!). On the other hand, if one is limited (as I am in my own shop) to a manual milling operation where the operator guides the part, then I can see the advantage of a predefined (etched) path on the part being milled...

I'm as confused as everyone by the milling. You showed an etched part in your previous post here, can you post an image of a CNC milled part?

T

To prevent any confusion about etching and CNC milling process here is a picture of a finish part but without the main product that was located at 'C'...but on the picture you will see the part at "A" that was etched but not mill.Finally the one at "B" was etched and mill......the use of the letter 'F' on both side is only to check the tool setting before that the operator apply it on the main part that was located at "c"

Unfortunately, the resolution available on my computer screen is inadequate to resolve the differences. Are you saying that the primary operation is the etching process, and the milling operation is merely a finishing operation? That your goal is to minimize the rework after etching?

Its quite difficult to observe the milling part just with a picture as it is normally check with a microscope that give a better resolution of the cutter....yes etching is the primary operation and milling come after that...my goal is to avoid putting a second layer on the painting part

Try this: Write down your CURRENT process as Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, etc.

Next, write down the process you WANT to have, as Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, etc.

If I'm following correctly, this is the current process:

1. Steel plate painted with etch-resist.
2. Second coat of paint applied.
3. Chemical etching.
4. CNC milling.
5. Completed.

This is the process you desire:

1. Steel plate painted with BETTER etch-resist.
2. Chemical etching.
3. CNC milling.
4. Completed.

Pantaz

yes you are right and I want to get a BETTER ink to optimize the etching result?anyone know about it

I think I get it now, from your previous post I think you are doing the etching yourself. Is the ink just a standard paint or a special photo-resist. I suspect that a normal paint is simply not up to the job & you need to use the appropriate resist.

am still stuck with an option to replace the type of ink!!can anyone help me for the suitable type of ink that should be use ....thk u for your reply

I think we are all waiting for:

A) What is the chemical etchant you are using?

B) What mask coating (ink) are you using now?

Bike750s previous post said,

"we are using ferric chloride at 40% plus an addition of 26 liters of water as the etchant"

DEAR MR BIKE,

Since you haven't told us what your current ink (maskant ) is, How can we suggest a better one?

Since your questions are ambiguous, misleading (how does the ink help the plate etch better?) and pretty much unfathomable, I think most folks are avoiding.

We are up to 20 posts now, and now we find out that the "REAL QUESTION" is What is a better ink to use as a maskant for etching?

And yet we still don't know "better than what?"

I think that most folks have tired of , LITERALLY, playing 20 QUESTIONS.

20 questions of probing and analysis to find out that you really are asking us for a product reccommendation is a bit much to expect from most people's patience.

Milo

I am sorry Milo but in the previous post I was just giving a few explanation on the process as some of the members was a bit confuse about it.....concerning the ink,the company is actually using a " RPPN BLUE PHOTO RESIST"that all i can say about the actual type of ink,can you suggest me any other ink?