REG NO.

14PWMEC3789

CHEMICAL MACHINING PROCESSES

A group of non-traditional processes that involve material removal through contact with a strong
chemical etchant. These processes include chemical milling, chemical blanking, chemical
engraving and photochemical machining.

Mechanism and Chemistry of Chemical Machining

Steps In Chemical Machining
1. Cleaning: Material is cleaned to insure uniform etching
2. Masking: A maskant (chemically resistant to etchant) is applied to portions of work
surface not to be etched
3. Etching: This is the material removal step. Part is immersed in etchant which chemically
attacks those portions of work surface that are not masked. It converts the work material
into salt that dissolves in the etchant and is thereby removed from the surface.
4. Demasking: The maskant is then removed.

Maskant In Chemical Machining

Materials used for masking are neoprene, polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, and other polymers
Masking is accomplished by any of three methods:
i. Cut and peel method
ii. Photographic resist method
iii. Screen resist method
i. Cut and Peel Maskant Method:
 Maskant is applied over entire part by dipping, painting, or spraying
 After maskant hardens, it is cut by hand using a scribing knife and peeled away in areas
of work surface to be etched
 It is used for large workparts, low production quantities, and where accuracy is not a
critical factor
ii. Photographic Resist Method:
 Masking materials contain photosensitive chemicals
 Maskant is applied to work surface and exposed to light through a negative image of
areas to be etched
 These areas are then removed using photographic developing techniques
 Applications:
a. Small parts are produced in high quantities
b. Fabrication of integrated circuits and printed circuit cards
iii. Screen Resist Method:
 Maskant is applied by “silk screening” methods
 REG NO. 14PWMEC3789

 Maskant is painted through a silk or stainless steel mesh containing stencil onto surface
areas that are not to be etched
 Applications:
a. Used between other two masking methods in terms of accuracy, part size, and
production quantities
b. Fabrication of printed circuit boards

Etchant
Etchant should be selected on the basis of work material, depth and rate of material removal and
surface finish requirements.

Applications of Chemical Machining

a. It removes material from aircraft wing and fuselage panels for weight reduction.
b. Applicable to large parts where substantial amounts of metal are removed.

Chemical milling:
Chemical milling produces a surface finish that varies with different work materials. Surface
finish depends on depth of penetration. As depth increases, finish becomes worse. Metallurgical
damage from chemical milling is very small, perhaps around 0.005 mm (0.0002 in) into the work
surface.

Chemical Blanking:
Chemical blanking uses chemical erosion to cut very thin sheetmetal parts that ranges to 0.025
mm thick and/or for intricate cutting patterns. In both instances, conventional punch-and-die
methods do not work because the stamping forces damage the sheet metal, or the tooling cost
would be prohibitive, or both. Chemical blanking produces parts that are burr free, an advantage
over conventional shearing operations.

Chemical Engraving:
Chemical engraving is a chemical machining process for making name plates and other flat
panels that have lettering and/or artwork on one side. Chemical engraving is similar to the other
CHM processes, except that a filling operation follows etching. The purpose of filling is to apply
paint or other coating into the recessed areas that have been created by etching. Then, the panel
is immersed in a solution that dissolves the resist but does not attack the coating material. Thus,
when the resist is removed, the coating remains in the etched areas but not in the areas that were
masked. The effect is to highlight the pattern.

Photochemical Machining:
Photochemical machining is chemical machining in which the photoresist method of masking is
used. PCM is employed in metalworking when close tolerances and/or intricate patterns are
required on flat parts. Photochemical processes are also used extensively in the electronics
industry to produce intricate circuit designs on semiconductor wafers.