Hi all. Looking for a service that does custom photo etch work. I have an SVG file that I want to turn into a PE scribing template. Any ideas? Thanks.
Hello!
No really good ideas or adresses - but it might be good to look around for small companies making printed circuit boards - the technology is the same.
Hope it helps - have a nice day
Paweł
Yes, google ‘photoetch services’ for leads. If you are in a high-tech region there may be someone who will do a small run. Be aware that most of these guys are based on an industrial scale and expect that product runs will be in the hundreds, if not thousands, of units. The cost to tool up for a one-off project may be prohibitive for you.
You may also find that you are able to do photoetching yourself at home with the proper chemicals and photography background. It is messy, Ferric Chloride and brass sheets stain everything which it touches. I have done some crude items using rub-on shapes and letters. I was never able to master the process of developing a photo image on a sheet of metal for etching. IIRC, MicroMart sells a kit, but I got my materials at a local electonics store (not a Best Buy).
The old go-to for modeler’s photoetch services, PhotoCut closed after the passing of the owner. Hobby PE manufactures do not do their own processes in house, they subcontract it out. Again product runs in the hundreds or thousands of units.
If you find one reasonable cost, please post on your thread. I too have need. Don’t wish to attempt MicroMarks’ kit
I’m constructing my Dad’s General Air Freight Ford 5-AT and am stumped as to constructing the P &W Wasp “Face Plates” for the pods’ engines. Thinking they are thin as heck so either a card stock or photo etch.
I am going to try again photo etch using the toner transfer method. If I can perfect it, it will make homemade PE a lot easier. I have the MM kit- tried the process and it worked, but questionable if it is worth all the work.
The toner transfer method was developed for electronics hobbyists to make homemade etched circuit boards easily. I have made a sheet using this method, and it worked, but resolution not good enough for smaller parts. I have found an article on getting higher resolution from toner transfer, and bought some new sheets of toner transfer paper. I will post here if I get it to work.
Toner transfer uses a laser printer. Black laser printers are not expensive these days- about half of what the MM set costs. You print the mask on the laser printer, put the printed output down on a copper sheet (toner side towards copper), and iron it. You then wet the paper and pull it up, leaving the toner (which is etch-resistant) on the copper. You then etch it.
Thank you Don.
‘Toner Transfer Etching’, another dizzying ‘news-to-me’ technology.
I’ll have to reseach “How To” unless you have a site you prefer. 
Charlie
I used google.
I have done a lot of research online lately, compiling references. The thing that bothers me is that there are a lot of people doing it, their methods vary widely- there is no consensus. However, there are some new ideas, that differ greatly from the standard methods. So I will be doing some experiments on them.
One idea is that line smearing comes from the ironing process, and that makes sense. Some others are heating the copper before the transfer paper is pressed on. I want to try both ideas and see what I come up with.
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Having rebuilt 90 year old Schebler carbs, one trick we learned about straightening old pot metal is to lap a surface on a granite tile. That is about as flat as you can get.
Wonder if using that as a base for the transfer ironing might help seal the edges? Some granite countertop dealers often will sell an 12"-18" square for a song.
Having returned to modeling after a 55 year hiatus I am happily stupefied at the increasing options available.