A Photochemical Machining-Based Experimental Investigation of Nickel Silver Etching Depth

Abstract

The technique known as photochemical machining (PCM) uses etchants and a photoresist to corrosively machine away specific regions of sheet metal components. It is among the most significant and least well-known unconventional processes. The production of geometrically complicated machine components from engineering materials that cannot be cheaply or practically shaped by traditional machining procedures has made considerable use of unconventionalmachining techniques. The parametric optimization of steel photochemical machining (PCM) is the main topic of this research. Etching temperature and etching time have been chosen as the control parameters. Ferric chloride has been used as an etchant in PCM. Surface roughness and edge deviation should be minimal, while etching depth is desired high. The purpose of the study is to investigatetheeffectofcontrolparametersonresponsemeasures,thatis,surfaceroughness,etching depth and evaluating different weight percentage for each performance measure.

Introduction

Photochemical machining (PCM), also known as chemical milling or photochemical etching, is a precise manufacturing process widely used for producing complex metal parts such as printed circuit boards, microfluidic channels, and decorative items. The process involves creating a phototool (design printed on transparent film), coating the metal workpiece with a photoresist, exposing it to UV light, developing the photoresist, and chemically etching the metal.

Various researchers have studied different aspects of PCM, including the effects of liquid photoresists, process parameters, etchant types, and material behavior. Key factors affecting the process are the type of photoresist (positive or negative), etchant concentration, temperature, and exposure time.

The study focused on Nickel Silver as the base metal, using ferric chloride (FeCl3) as the etchant and a negative photoresist. Experiments varied etching time and temperature to analyze their effects on etching depth and surface roughness. Results showed that higher temperatures and longer etching times increased both etching depth and surface roughness, with the lowest etching depth at 40°C for 10 minutes and the highest at 60°C for 30 minutes.

PCM remains crucial in manufacturing precision metal components, with ongoing research to optimize parameters for better surface quality and process efficiency.

Conclusion

To find the relation between temperature, time and etching depth experimental analysiswascarriedout,generalreactionmechanismisdevelopedforphotoresistand developer solution. The etching depth is measured for Nickel Silver material. The experimentation is carried out to find out the depth of etching for Nickel Silver materials using FeCl3 etchant. Fromaboveobservationconclusionsaregivenbelow: 1) Itisobservedthattheetchingdepthisdependuponetchingtemperatureand time. 2) The depth of etch is going to increase by increasing temperature and etching time. 3) The Surface Roughness value is going to increase by increasing temperature and etching time. 4) The EtchingdepthofNickelSilvermaterialgoesonincreasingwithchangein temperature and time.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Avinash D. Sapkal , Sadanand J. Jagatap, Akash A Pawar, Dattatray Jadhav, Sanika P. Gavali, Gauri D. Chavan, Pradnya D. Gaikwad, Tanushri S. Salunkhe. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.