Overview

A custom brass perforated metal sheet is a thin brass panel carrying thousands of precisely located micro-holes, made by photochemical etching rather than punching, drilling or laser cutting. A photoresist mask is imaged with the hole pattern on both faces, developed, and the unprotected metal is dissolved in an etchant matched to the alloy, so every aperture is formed in the metal itself with straight, burr-free walls. Stock is typically cartridge brass C26000/C26800, phosphor bronze or copper C110 between 0.1 mm and 1.0 mm. Because no die contacts the sheet, the panel leaves the line flat and stress-free, and a custom brass perforated metal sheet repeats the same open area from the first sample to the ten-thousandth piece.

For buyers, the custom brass perforated metal sheet answers three limits of mechanical perforation: punches break below 0.15 mm, dense arrays bow thin stock, and decorative faces cannot tolerate roll-over. Etching turns the hole array into artwork, so changing pitch or diameter is a new film rather than a new tool. That keeps prototypes fast and revisions cheap, which is why acoustic grilles, precision sieves, EMI ventilation panels and decorative trim increasingly move to etched micro-perforated brass.

Parameter Window

• Available Materials: cartridge brass C26000/C26800, phosphor bronze, copper C110, nickel silver
• Material Thickness Range: 0.1–1.0 mm (0.2 mm and 0.3 mm most common for micro-hole panels)
• Tolerance: ±0.02 mm on hole diameter, ±0.03 mm on hole position, ±0.05 mm on outline
• Minimum Feature: 0.15 mm hole diameter, 0.12 mm minimum web, 0.25 mm hole pitch at 0.2 mm stock
• Surface Options: passivated bare, brushed, mirror, Ni/Au plating, anti-tarnish, PSA backing
• Compliance: ISO 9001 process control, RoHS/REACH material traceability

Manufacturing Process / Workflow (8 Steps)

1. Artwork Review — Vectorize the hole array, check diameter, pitch and web against stock thickness, and set panel registration targets.
2. Material Selection — Choose brass temper and gauge for the target open area and stiffness; confirm flatness and surface quality.
3. Cleaning & Lamination — Degrease and laminate dry-film resist on both faces under controlled heat and pressure to avoid bubbles over fine holes.
4. UV Exposure — Expose both sides through high-resolution film registered to the sheet edge so top and bottom patterns align.
5. Development — Wash out unexposed resist to open every aperture, then inspect for residual film that would block a hole.
6. Etching — Spray etchant matched to brass; time, temperature and conveyor speed set sidewall straightness and final hole diameter.
7. Stripping & Finishing — Remove resist, neutralize, then passivate, brush, plate or apply PSA backing; anneal if flatness must be restored.
8. Inspection & Packaging — Measure hole diameter, position and web width on a vision system, verify open area, then pack on liner or in trays.

Core Advantages

1. Burr-free hole edges: Chemical dissolution leaves no roll-over or punch burr, so apertures stay clean and never scratch mating parts.
2. No hard tooling: A new pitch or diameter is a new film, keeping short runs and frequent revisions economical without a perforation die.
3. High hole density: 0.15 mm holes with 0.12 mm webs hold on 0.2 mm stock, so open area is set by the artwork, not by punch strength.
4. Flat, stress-free panels: Whole-sheet etching introduces no mechanical stress, so thin brass stays flat for bonding or stacking.
5. Batch consistency: All holes on a sheet form together, keeping diameter and open area uniform within a lot and repeatable by locked parameters.
6. Material and finish flexibility: Brass micro-perforated panels combine the alloy's conductivity and corrosion resistance with fine, burr-free etched geometry in one part.

Typical Applications

• Acoustic grilles: Dust and splash guards for speakers and receivers, where dense holes pass sound and the brass face doubles as trim.
• Precision sieving: Micro-hole sieve plates for lab and fine classification equipment, with uniform apertures for accurate particle cut-off.
• EMI ventilation: Shielded enclosure panels that combine electromagnetic attenuation with airflow through an etched micro-hole array.
• Decorative trim: Brushed or gold-plated brass meshes used as the visible finish on instruments and premium equipment.
• Fluid distribution: Multi-hole flow-conditioning plates in atomizers and dispensers, where even pitch keeps flow uniform.
• Filter support: Perforated backing skeletons that pass fluid while supporting a fine filter medium without deformation.

Design Notes & Process Considerations

1. Hole-to-thickness ratio: Keep the minimum hole near or above stock thickness; a 0.15 mm hole in 0.2 mm brass needs an etch-factor allowance.
2. Web allowance: Hold the ligament between holes above roughly 0.8 × thickness, or webs thin out and merge during etching.
3. Open-area callout: State open-area percentage or total hole count, and leave a solid border of at least 2 mm for clamping and alignment.
4. Etch factor and size: Specify finished hole size, not film size, and allow for the double-sided etch taper when holes are deep or stock is thick.
5. Finishing without clogging: Note passivation, plating or PSA type; thick coatings can bridge small holes, so confirm after finishing.
6. Panelization and sampling: Group parts on one sheet with shared registration, verify hole size and open area on a sample, then lock the film and move to volume.