Overview

Micro nameplate etching produces small metal plates — usually 10 × 10 mm up to 40 × 20 mm — that carry fine lettering, a serial number and rows of micro holes on the same face. The sheet is laminated with photoresist, exposed through one film that holds both the graphics and the hole array, developed, and etched in a single pass. Recessed characters and through holes therefore form together, with no second setup and no registration between two operations. Stock runs from 0.05 mm to 0.8 mm in 304/316L stainless steel, aluminum 1050/5052, brass and nickel silver.

Small plates are awkward for mechanical routes. A stamping die wears quickly at 0.1 mm strokes, and the roll-over burr lifts the plate off a mounting face; laser drilling leaves a heat-affected rim, a tapered wall and spatter between close holes; printed legends wear away under solvent and handling. Chemical removal avoids all three: the plate leaves the bath flat and burr-free, the hole wall stays straight, and one film repeats hole position piece after piece. That is the case micro nameplate etching is built for — small size, dense detail and thin stock at the same time.

Parameter Window

• Available Materials: 304/316L stainless steel, aluminum 1050/5052, brass H62, nickel silver, titanium foil
• Material Thickness Range: 0.05–0.8 mm; 0.05–0.2 mm preferred for micro hole arrays
• Tolerance: ±0.03 mm on outline, ±0.02 mm on hole centre spacing, ±0.015 mm on hole diameter
• Minimum Feature: 0.08 mm line, 0.12 mm character stroke and 0.15 mm hole at 0.1 mm stock
• Surface Options: brushed, mirror, anodized, PVD black, paint fill, adhesive backing, selective plating
• Compliance: ISO 9001 process control, RoHS/REACH material traceability

Manufacturing Process / Workflow (8 Steps)

1. Artwork and Hole Review — Check outline, stroke width and hole array on one vector file, then apply etch compensation relative to stock thickness.
2. Material Selection — Match alloy and temper to light transmission, corrosion or soldering needs, and verify thickness tolerance and surface condition.
3. Cleaning and Lamination — Degrease, then hot-roll dry film at low tension so no bubble or resist ridge sits across the micro hole field.
4. Double-Sided Exposure — Expose both faces against shared targets so the hole mouths stay concentric; misalignment shows up directly as a slanted wall.
5. Development and First Check — Wash out unexposed resist, then inspect the smallest hole and stroke under a microscope before any metal is removed.
6. Controlled Etching — Match chemistry to the alloy and trim spray pressure, temperature and line speed; slow the hole field slightly to limit wall enlargement.
7. Stripping and Finishing — Remove resist, neutralize, then brush, anodize or paint-fill; mask the holes so coating cannot seal them.
8. Inspection and Packaging — Measure hole size, spacing, etch depth and flatness, then deliver on tape or in trays with first-article micrographs.

Core Advantages

1. Text and holes in one pass: Graphics and hole array sit on the same film, so there is no registration error between two production steps.
2. Straight, burr-free holes: Chemical removal is isotropic, leaving a round mouth and a flat wall that will not lift an adhesive face or pinch a gasket.
3. No distortion on thin stock: At 0.05–0.2 mm there is no shear force, so plates stay flat and need no levelling before bonding to a curved housing.
4. Repeatable hole position: One film exposed many times holds centre spacing at ±0.02 mm, so a dense array does not drift from piece to piece.
5. Revisions cost a film: Changing a font, hole count or pitch needs no die; samples arrive in days and trial builds can iterate freely.
6. Economic at low volume: Dozens of small plates share one sheet and one set of targets, so mixed part numbers run without separate tooling.

Typical Applications

• Backlit indicator plates: Legends with a 0.2 mm hole field beside the text, lit from behind by an LED for even glow.
• Acoustic port covers: Dense micro holes in 0.1 mm stainless over microphones and buzzers, passing sound while blocking dust.
• Sensor vent caps: Breathing plates for pressure sensors and battery compartments, metering air while keeping moisture and particles out.
• Miniature asset tags: Numbered plates for tools, fixtures and instruments, with a QR code and serial inside a 10 × 10 mm face.
• Decorative brand plates: Logo inserts for wearables and small appliances, cut as fine openwork on mirror or PVD finishes.
• Alignment and datum plates: Optical module shims where micro holes act as datum points and hole accuracy sets assembly alignment.

Design Notes & Process Considerations

1. Web width: Keep the metal between adjacent holes at or above stock thickness — 0.12 mm minimum at 0.1 mm stock — or the webs etch through.
2. Aspect ratio: Below a 1:1 hole-to-thickness ratio the side etch dominates and the mouth flares; plan double-sided etching for deeper holes.
3. Text clearance: Leave 0.15 mm between the nearest stroke and a hole edge, otherwise paint fill bleeds into the hole and cuts light output.
4. Compensation callout: Dimension the finished hole and state whether etch allowance is included; if not, add 0.01–0.02 mm per side.
5. Coating versus holes: Anodizing and powder coat close small apertures, so specify plugged or post-drilled holes when a finish is required.
6. Panel layout: Group small plates on one sheet with shared corner targets and a clean cut margin; yield depends heavily on this spacing.