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Benefits at a glance
- Prototype to volume — fast
- Unlimited complexity – you only pay for the first hole
- No hard tooling
- Low-cost design iterations — fast
- Burr-and stress-free – metal temper and magnetic properties unaffected
- Lead times in days, not months
- All steel grades
- Accuracy to ±0.025mm
Precision Micro photo etches a wide range of austenitic (300) and martensitic (400) series stainless steel grades from stock. We also machine specialist stainless steel grades, including Sandvik Chromflex strip steels and nickel chrome, and work with customer-supplied steels.
We etch more than two million stainless steel components each month
Prototype to volume — fast
Low set-up costs and rapid lead times make photo etching economical in batch sizes of one-to-multiple millions. As a production steel etching specialist, Precision Micro supplies high-tech companies with more two million steel and stainless steel components each month, many of which are 100% dimensionally inspected, guaranteeing zero defects parts per million (DPPM).
Applications
- Safety-critical springs and flexures used in satellites, ABS braking, biosensors and fuel injection can now flex millions of times because photo etching does not alter fatigue strength, recoil and the flatness of spring steel.
- Medical instruments and biomedical implants photo etched from surgical steels with minimal metallic contamination require zero post-cleaning.
- Complex, corrosion-resistant micro-filters used in showerheads and insect meshes can be manufactured in economical production volumes as photo etching only charges for the first hole.
- Photo etching does not alter the mechanical surface finish of stainless steel and is specified for premium automotive interior trim applications including speaker grilles, tread plates, badges and inlays.
Materials
- Mild steel
- Electrical steel
- Maraging steel
- Sandvik strip steel
- Uddeholmstrip flapper valve steel
- High carbon (spring) steel
- Austenitic (300 series)
- Ferritic/martensitic (400 series)
- Precipitation hardened (17-4, 17-7)
- Duplex, super duplex
- Full material stock list
Related Articles
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See how photo etching works
The basic principles of photo etching can be demonstrated in nine process steps.
Technical guidelines
Created to guide you through designing for the photo etching process, outlining achievable tolerances and component features.
Talk to us
With backgrounds which include CAD, machining, technical and operations planning, our sales engineers have the photo etching know-how to answer your questions.
Request samples
Component samples designed specifically to demonstrate the features and benefits of photo etching.
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Submit your component data for technical evaluation and pricing.
