Chemical etching Complex, burr and stress-free components with pinpoint precision

What is chemical etching?

etched speaker grills created through chemical etching

Chemical etching, also known as chemical milling or photo etching, is a subtractive sheet metal machining process which uses chemical etchants to create complex and highly accurate precision components from almost any metal.

We have been at the forefront of etching technology for almost 60 years. This is because our unmatched chemical etching process know-how enables us to offer a fast, economical, quality-assured etching service for the widest range of metals.

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Chemical etching benefits

We use low-cost, automated digital tooling which can be created and changed extremely quickly and cost-effectively. This ensures risk-free prototyping without financial penalty.

Photo-etched components are burr and stress-free with no mechanical force or heat used, leaving material properties unaltered.

Because component features are etched all at the same time, we can offer almost limitless part complexity to micron accuracy.

Company logos, part numbers or serial numbers can also be etched into the surface of the component during manufacture at no additional cost.

Our full range of service benefits include:

  • Unlimited complexity – you only pay for the first hole
  • No expensive hard tooling
  • Low-cost design iterations
  • Burr and stress-free – metal properties unaffected
  • Lead-times in a few days – quicker on request
  • Almost any metal, including those typically hard to machine
  • Micron accuracy
  • Company logos, part numbers or serial numbers etched at no additional cost
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What materials can be chemically etched?

We process more than 100 tonnes of sheet metal from over 2,000 metal types each year – more than any other chemical etching supplier.

Our customers benefit from these purchasing economies and the wide variety of metals we hold in stock.

Typical materials include:

Need to discuss your material requirements?

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Chemical etching components