Photo chemical machining is the process involved with the fabrication of sheet metal components using a photoresist together with etchants. photo chemical machining is also known as photochemical milling and photo etching, and is used for a wide range of applications. The processes and technology of photo etching is quite new, having started back in the 1960s.
As an outgrowth of the printed circuit board industry, much of the original work was connected to circuit board manufacture, although this has expanded in the last few decades. Photo chemical machining is also known simply as PCM, and is an economical alternative to other techniques such as stamping, punching, water jet cutting, laser cutting, and electrical discharge machining. PCM is a versatile process that can be used on a range of different materials, such as silver, steel, manganese, inconel, copper, brass, aluminium, stainless steel, and titanium.
The basic process of photo chemical machining involves an initial printing phase using photographic film, the preparation of metal sheets using a UV sensitive photoresist, the exposure of the plate, and the etching of the material. There are a wide range of applications that use the process of PCM, including a number of industrial uses. Some common uses of PCM include the production of materials like fuel cells, sensors, springs, heat sinks, heating elements, screens, masks, battery grids, metal gaskets and seals, electrical contacts, jewellery, and washers. However, there are a wide range of other applications as well, making the PCM process one of the most useful in the modern industrial age. The thin gauge used, together with the broad range of alloys and the economics of the process, make PCM a very popular process.
Photo chemical machining is used in a wide range of applications, and with a wide range of different materials. It can be used on practically any type of commercially available alloy or metal material, including soft, medium, and hard metal products. In terms of thickness, photo chemical machining can be used on anything with a thickness between 0.0005 to 0.080 inches, or 0.013 to 2.0 mm. Perhaps the most obvious example of photo chemical machining is with photo etching, where a photo realistic image can be etched on to a metal material through the use of a negative image. However, similar techniques can be applied to a variety of other materials in a wide range of applications.