A NEW APPROACH TO ELECTRO-ETCHING
I would like to share my system of electro-etching that has been very successful. What you will need is a design or photo changed into a vector image by use of software that is either Coral Draw or Adobe illustrator. If you are not PC skilled, then you can bring your picture in jpeg format on a flash disk or CD to someone who can make the change for you. The picture is printed on a "Plotter", which is a special printer for cutting the design into foil. This machine uses the vector format to know precisely where to cut. Companies using "Plotters" make stickers, banners, and signs on trucks and cars.
The cutting blade on a "Plotter" is a small cylinder with a sharp blade inside. Its not necessary to buy a blade, but if you want a special or complex design (like our Kovlad logo in this tutorial) or a complex design smaller than 4cm x 4cm that you will want to purchase a smaller blade. The normal blade has problems cutting smaller pieces of foil. The blade costs around 30 Euros in my country.
Foils for the design are supplied by the printing company and come in many colors in matte or luster. Choose any you like, but ask for "tough" foil. I find gray the best. I have used shiny red foil, but the design came out torn and damaged. M2 foil is used for trucks and trailers and the scrap that is left is your best choice. M2 = square meters, so lots of square meters of foil is used on trucks and trailers. The cost of a few centimeters for your design will be irrelevant to the company. Make an enameled badge or sign for the company's boss and you will have free foils for the rest of your life!
NOW LETS BEGIN!
STEP #1 - Cut the design from the foil which has been prepared on the Plotter printer.
STEP #2 & 3 - Use a sharp tool to remove areas exposed to etching.
STEP #4,5,6,7 - Take another piece of foil, big enough to cover your design, put it on the top and press together firmly.
STEP 8 & 9 - Remove both foils from the paper carefully
STEPS 10 & 11 - Transfer the design you want to etch onto a clean piece of copper (the copper piece is better cut in 4 angles not round) and smooth out all air bubbles and press hard.
STEPS 12 & 13 - Cover all other areas you don't wish to etch with foil and attach a long piece of copper wire to the back of the piece.
STEPS 14, 15, 16 - Use STAINLESS STEEL bowl (anode +) and a small amount of copper sulfate. A less saturated solution will etch longer but the result will be better. The solution should be warm.
STEPS 17 & 18 - Use two or more pieces of rubber to protect against short circuit. Keep the piece close to the bottom of the bowl and the etching process will be better.
STEPS 19 & 20 - Put the copper plate face down in the bowl, add a small amount of distilled water so that the solution will cover the design - Avoid covering the copper wire.
STEPS 21 & 22 - Use an old phone charger ( I am using a Nokia) or power unit. Most important is the voltage and amps. Here it is a 5.7V/800maH, the lower the better. Or use a professional DC power supply (Mastech) and 0.1V and 1 amp.
NOTE: HOW TO PREPARE A POWER UNIT FOR ELECTRO-ETCHING
(Using scissors, cut the connector at the end of the jack.
Inside the black plastic cable is (2) wires - white & black.
Cut the plastic cover lengthwise approx. 10 cm to expose the two cables (white and black cables usually) try not to cut the plastic cover on these two cables. Just strip off the outer black plastic cover.
Strip the white plastic cover around the wire approx. 3 cm from the white cable end. Do the same for the black wire. Both copper wires will be exposed.
Purchase in an electrical shop a clip (called a crocodile/alligator clip). Buy one RED clip and attach to the 3 cm length of copper from the white wire, a black clip for the black wire. Usually there is a small hole on the clip where you can pass the wire through and bind.
Plug the BLACK Crocodile clip the the Stainless Steel bowl and the WHITE clip to the etched copper piece.
STEP 23 - The black cable connect to the bowl and the white to the etched piece. Wash the piece under running water every 10-15 mins. to remove copper oxides that are being released by the etching process.
STEP 24, 25, 26 - After etching a few designs, you will see a copper plate that has formed on the bottom of the bowl. Just use a sharp tool to remove it. Sometimes it comes up in one piece.
STEP 27 - Remove all the foils from both sides and clean the copper.
STEP 28, 29, 30 - TADaaaa!! the result is here! The etched design is clear, no bubbles, and after 1 hour you can etch approximately 0.2-0.3mm depending on the solution and the voltage.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Copper Sulfate is commonly used as a fungicide for grapes: http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/CuSO4, so you can find it in some gardening shops. The recipe depends on the sale of the piece, but for small scale up to 10/10cm, use 2-3 tablespoons and a mug or two of distilled water. Concentrated solutions work faster but undercut more - Weaker solutions work slowly but the lines come up sharp. So try to find your best recipe.
The Copper sulfate is TOXIC so don't drink it. You will die within 7 hrs. Store the solution in an airtight container. It is not an acid so if you touch it with your hands you can just wash it off but be as cautious as you would with any other chemicals.
The advantage of the Copper sulfate is that after 1 hour your etch will be approx. 0.2-0.3mm deep etch depending on the solution and voltage, but if you have a strong solution (deep blue color) and high voltage (say 8 volts or more) the etched material will be around 0.5mm deep or more.
Note: You can also use PNP blue paper to cover the design, Syrian asphalt , nail polish, or common white sticker. But, as you can see, when you print the design on the Plotter, you can go into a lot of detail, such as my design of trees and snakes or anything else without any problems.
Feel free to ask any questions.
STEP #2 & 3 - Use a sharp tool to remove areas exposed to etching.
STEP #4,5,6,7 - Take another piece of foil, big enough to cover your design, put it on the top and press together firmly.
STEP 8 & 9 - Remove both foils from the paper carefully
STEPS 10 & 11 - Transfer the design you want to etch onto a clean piece of copper (the copper piece is better cut in 4 angles not round) and smooth out all air bubbles and press hard.
STEPS 12 & 13 - Cover all other areas you don't wish to etch with foil and attach a long piece of copper wire to the back of the piece.
STEPS 14, 15, 16 - Use STAINLESS STEEL bowl (anode +) and a small amount of copper sulfate. A less saturated solution will etch longer but the result will be better. The solution should be warm.
STEPS 17 & 18 - Use two or more pieces of rubber to protect against short circuit. Keep the piece close to the bottom of the bowl and the etching process will be better.
STEPS 19 & 20 - Put the copper plate face down in the bowl, add a small amount of distilled water so that the solution will cover the design - Avoid covering the copper wire.
STEPS 21 & 22 - Use an old phone charger ( I am using a Nokia) or power unit. Most important is the voltage and amps. Here it is a 5.7V/800maH, the lower the better. Or use a professional DC power supply (Mastech) and 0.1V and 1 amp.
NOTE: HOW TO PREPARE A POWER UNIT FOR ELECTRO-ETCHING
(Using scissors, cut the connector at the end of the jack.
Inside the black plastic cable is (2) wires - white & black.
Cut the plastic cover lengthwise approx. 10 cm to expose the two cables (white and black cables usually) try not to cut the plastic cover on these two cables. Just strip off the outer black plastic cover.
Strip the white plastic cover around the wire approx. 3 cm from the white cable end. Do the same for the black wire. Both copper wires will be exposed.
Purchase in an electrical shop a clip (called a crocodile/alligator clip). Buy one RED clip and attach to the 3 cm length of copper from the white wire, a black clip for the black wire. Usually there is a small hole on the clip where you can pass the wire through and bind.
Plug the BLACK Crocodile clip the the Stainless Steel bowl and the WHITE clip to the etched copper piece.
STEP 23 - The black cable connect to the bowl and the white to the etched piece. Wash the piece under running water every 10-15 mins. to remove copper oxides that are being released by the etching process.
STEP 24, 25, 26 - After etching a few designs, you will see a copper plate that has formed on the bottom of the bowl. Just use a sharp tool to remove it. Sometimes it comes up in one piece.
STEP 27 - Remove all the foils from both sides and clean the copper.
STEP 28, 29, 30 - TADaaaa!! the result is here! The etched design is clear, no bubbles, and after 1 hour you can etch approximately 0.2-0.3mm depending on the solution and the voltage.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Copper Sulfate is commonly used as a fungicide for grapes: http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/CuSO4, so you can find it in some gardening shops. The recipe depends on the sale of the piece, but for small scale up to 10/10cm, use 2-3 tablespoons and a mug or two of distilled water. Concentrated solutions work faster but undercut more - Weaker solutions work slowly but the lines come up sharp. So try to find your best recipe.
The Copper sulfate is TOXIC so don't drink it. You will die within 7 hrs. Store the solution in an airtight container. It is not an acid so if you touch it with your hands you can just wash it off but be as cautious as you would with any other chemicals.
The advantage of the Copper sulfate is that after 1 hour your etch will be approx. 0.2-0.3mm deep etch depending on the solution and voltage, but if you have a strong solution (deep blue color) and high voltage (say 8 volts or more) the etched material will be around 0.5mm deep or more.
Note: You can also use PNP blue paper to cover the design, Syrian asphalt , nail polish, or common white sticker. But, as you can see, when you print the design on the Plotter, you can go into a lot of detail, such as my design of trees and snakes or anything else without any problems.
Feel free to ask any questions.