Overview

Custom mesh etching turns flat metal into a mesh part whose aperture pattern comes straight from your drawing. Photochemical machining laminates a resist onto the sheet, exposes it to UV through artwork carrying every slot, round hole, hexagon and solid land, then dissolves the unprotected metal in a matched etchant. Because the pattern lives on film instead of in a punched die, custom mesh etching carries no tooling charge for a new aperture layout, and a design revision is simply new artwork. Stock runs from 0.02 mm foil to 1.5 mm plate in stainless steel 304/316L, nickel 200, copper C11000, brass and titanium.

The practical advantage is pattern freedom. Open area can vary within a single blank — dense filtration zones, wide flow windows and solid mounting tabs coexist on one part — and logos, flow arrows or part numbers can be etched into the land between apertures. Chemical removal leaves no burrs, no work-hardened rims and no punch-shear taper, so sheets come off the line flat and ready for forming, welding or assembly. Every part on a sheet etches under identical conditions, so the first sample matches the ten-thousandth piece.

Parameter Window

• Available Materials: stainless steel 304/316L, nickel 200, copper C11000, brass C2680, titanium Grade 1/2
• Material Thickness Range: 0.02–1.5 mm
• Tolerance: ±0.05 mm on outline; aperture size ±0.02 mm or ±8% of aperture, whichever is greater
• Minimum Feature: 0.05 mm slot width on 0.05 mm foil; web between apertures ≥ 0.08 mm
• Surface Options: passivation, electropolishing, slitting, forming, spot-welded tabs, protective film
• Compliance: ISO 9001 process control, RoHS/REACH material traceability

Manufacturing Process / Workflow (8 Steps)

1. Pattern Review — Convert the aperture drawing to film artwork, check webs and slots against stock thickness, and confirm open-area ratio and solid land positions.
2. Material Selection — Match alloy and temper to the duty: stainless for corrosion resistance, nickel for conductivity, titanium where weight matters, and verify foil flatness.
3. Cleaning & Lamination — Degrease the sheet and laminate dry film resist under controlled heat and pressure so no bubbles sit under fine webs.
4. UV Exposure — Expose through high-resolution artwork registered to the sheet edge, holding pattern position across the whole panel.
5. Development — Wash out unexposed resist to open every aperture and contour, then inspect fine webs for pinholes or residual film.
6. Etching — Spray matched chemistry from both sides; time, temperature and line speed hold aperture size and sidewall profile within tolerance.
7. Stripping & Forming — Strip resist, neutralize and dry, then slit, form, emboss or weld tabs wherever the assembly calls for them.
8. Inspection & Packaging — Verify aperture size, open area, burr condition and flatness against the approved sample, then pack flat on liner or in trays.

Core Advantages

1. No tooling cost: Each aperture layout is just a new film, so prototypes and pattern revisions skip die cost and lead time entirely.
2. Variable open area on one blank: Dense filtration zones, wide flow windows and solid mounting tabs can share a single part without assembly.
3. Burr-free, stress-free edges: Chemical removal leaves no roll-over or hardened rim, so parts handle cleanly and coatings bond evenly.
4. Foil to light plate: 0.02 mm foil through 1.5 mm plate runs on one line, covering sensor screens, filtration meshes and structural grids.
5. Fine apertures in thin stock: Slots down to 0.05 mm hold on 0.05 mm foil, which makes micro hole mesh etching practical for sieves and screens.
6. Pattern freedom: Custom mesh etching carries logos, arrows and part numbers in the solid land between apertures at no extra process cost.

Typical Applications

• Sensor protection screens: Fine aperture mesh that shields pressure and flow sensors while keeping the media moving.
• Encoder and optical discs: Slotted discs with precise angular patterns for motion feedback and position sensing.
• Battery current collector meshes: Nickel and stainless grids with integral tab features for battery and fuel cell stacks.
• Vent and speaker grilles: Decorative aperture fields with brand marks etched into the solid land for housings and panels.
• Laboratory sieve plates: Micro-hole mesh fields with controlled aperture zones for particle sizing and sample preparation.
• Shielding windows: Aperture-controlled panels that balance EMI/RFI attenuation and airflow in instrument enclosures.

Design Notes & Process Considerations

1. Aperture versus thickness: Through-apertures should be at least equal to material thickness; narrower openings risk incomplete etch or fragile webs.
2. Web width: Hold webs between apertures at 0.08 mm or more in foil and scale up in heavier stock so the mesh stays dimensionally stable.
3. Open-area balance: Very high open area softens the blank; add solid tabs, border lands or frame rings wherever the part is handled or welded.
4. Etch compensation: Sidewalls taper roughly half the etch depth per side, so oversize apertures in artwork whenever a close fit matters.
5. Panel layout: Nest parts on shared frames with common registration marks to cut handling cost and keep unit pricing down.
6. Surface condition: Call out passivation or electropolishing where cleanliness or appearance matters — custom mesh etching edges are already burr-free, so both finishes are stable.