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Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Fabrication Using Chemical Etching

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Products & Processes Run on Chemcut PCB Etching Machines

  • 2 mil core inner layers
  • Flexible reel-to-reel Kapton
  • 250 mil multi-layers
  • Rigid FR4

Fine Line PCB Etching

2 mil line and space at production volumes

Thin Material Transport for PCB

  • 2 mil material can be transported with ease
     

Etch & Capabilities Testing

Samples can be tested in Chemcut’s R&D lab to confirm that our etcher can process your parts before you purchase a machine. Other wet processing tests are available upon request.
 
Chemcut’s R&D lab is open to be rented for research. Our expert team can perform, test, and troubleshoot any wet processing step needed.
Popular Wet Processing Equipment for PCB

Develop – Etch – Strip Line

Strip – Etch – Strip Line

Cupric Chloride Etch Line

Developing Systems

Stripping Systems

Mechanical Scrubbing and Deburr

Chemcut PCB Etching Machines for Fabrication of PCB

Chemcut has been a leader in the PCB etching process since 1957.
 
Throughout our history, we have used the concept of continuous improvement to ensure our etchers and other wet processing machines are designed and built to ensure their quality, reliability, and longevity. Our dedication to continuous improvement means we are always striving to outdo ourselves.
 
Along with thin material transport, we have improved our etch uniformity continuously. If you’re using a Chemcut etcher, you are able to etch 2 mil line and space with no issue.
 
If you desire to etch a line and space smaller than 2 mils, thinner copper is required. The thinner the copper you etch the smaller the etched line and space can be.
 
Need even better uniformity?
 
Chemcut has you covered with our patented Intermittent Spray and Etch Adjust Module.
 
The Intermittent Spray eliminates the puddling effect by giving extra etch to the middle of the panel, flattening the etch uniformity front to back.
Etch Adjust Module is for those small side-to-side hot spots you sometimes have. This is a popular option for plated boards where the thickness can vary from side to side.
 
On top of our thin material transport and etch uniformity and accuracy, Chemcut pulls away from the pack with our extra engineering options:

  • Do you prefer to control the spray pressure of every spray tube or zone (depends on setup) instead of the options above?

    Then check out our XLi High-Resolution etcher. This module allows you to control the spray pressure of every spray tube or zone from your PLC.

    We have designed our the XLi High-Resolution etcher to have five zones—top and bottom—where you can control the pressure of each spray tube or zone. The etcher will allow you to even the etch side to side for PCB fabrication and will allow you to etch one side more than the other without getting in the etch chamber to make adjustments.

  • One of the most popular money-saving options is our Regeneration system.  For cupric chloride, Chemcut’s regeneration system makes the chemistry last indefinitely! The regeneration system will automatically add hydrochloric acid and sodium chlorate as you etch more copper.  We also offers a chlorine gas regeneration system for cupric chloride etching.

Other Popular Options for the PCB Etching Process:

Specific gravity, ORP, and pH controls are all widely popular options in PCB etching. Some of the product lines Chemcut offers are detailed below:
2300 Series Chemical Cleaning System
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 15″
  • 20″
  • 30″
Common Processes
  • Cleaner (Stand Alone)
  • Alkaline Clean to Acid Clean
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
Common Chemicals
  • Acid Cleaner
  • Alkaline Cleaner
2300 Series Developing System
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 15″
  • 20″
  • 30″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • Developer (Stand Alone)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
Common Chemicals
  • 1% Potassium Carbonate
  • 1% Sodium Carbonate
Common Resists
  • dry film photoresists
  • liquid photoresists
  • Aqueous solder mask resist (dry and liquid)
  • And many more resists
2300 Series Dryer
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 15″
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
Features
  • Stand-alone drying system
  • Portable unit (move anywhere in the shop) or fix it in place
2300 Series Etching System
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 15″
  • 20″
  • 30″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
  • Etcher (Stand Alone)
  • SES (Strip – Etch – Strip)
Common Chemicals
  • Alkaline Etchant
  • Cupric Chloride Etchant
  • Ferric chloride Etchant
  • Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)
  • Micro etch
Common Materials Etched
  • Aluminum
  • Copper
  • Glass
  • Steel
  • Titanium
  • And more
2300 Series Stripping System
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 15″
  • 20″
  • 30″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
  • SES (Strip – Etch – Strip)
  • Stripper (Stand Alone)
Common Chemicals
  • Metal Resist Stripper
  • Proprietary Aqueous or Semi-Aqueous Stripper
  • Potassium Hydroxide
  • Sodium Hydroxide
XLi Chemical Cleaning System
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Cleaner (Stand Alone)
  • Alkaline Clean to Acid Clean
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
Common Chemicals
  • Acid Cleaner
  • Alkaline Cleaner
XLi Developing Systems
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • Developer (Stand Alone)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
Common Chemicals
  • 1% Potassium Carbonate
  • 1% Sodium Carbonate
XLi Etching Systems
image
Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
  • Etcher (Stand Alone)
  • SES (Strip – Etch – Strip)
Common Chemicals
  • Alkaline Etchant
  • Cupric Chloride Etchant
  • Ferric chloride Etchant
  • Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)
  • Micro etch
Common Materials Etched
  • Aluminum
  • Copper
  • Glass
  • Steel
  • Titanium
  • And more
XLi Stripping Systems
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
  • SES (Strip – Etch – Strip)
  • Stripper (Stand Alone)
Common Chemicals
  • Metal Resist Stripper
  • Proprietary Aqueous or Semi-Aqueous Stripper
  • Potassium Hydroxide
  • Sodium Hydroxide
XLi with External Automatic Pressure Adjust
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Control the spray pressure of each spray tube using the PLC instead of the throttling screw.

Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
  • Etcher (Stand Alone)
  • SES (Strip – Etch – Strip)
Common Chemicals
  • Alkaline Etchant
  • Cupric Chloride Etchant
  • Ferric chloride Etchant
  • Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)
  • Micro etch
Common Materials Etched
  • Aluminum
  • Copper
  • Glass
  • Steel
  • Titanium
  • And more
604 Deburrer
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Features
  • 2 oscillating brushes
  • Built-in Rinse and Dryer
Common uses
  • Post PCB drilling
  • Post punching operations
219 Scrubber
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Features
  • Single-sided abrasive brush
  • Tough reinforced conveyor belt supports small parts
936 Web Filtering System
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Removes these from rinse water: Metal fines, Brush particles, Oils and other contaminates.

121 Brush Cleaner
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Features
  • Wet Brushing
  • Oscillating Brushes
  • Choice of bristle or compressed brushes
Common uses
  • Brushing
  • Cleaner
  • Finishing
  • Remove Polishing
990D Electroless Plating System
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Product Lines for Electrolytic and Electroless Plating: CC8000, Dip Tanks, XLi, 2300 Series

Common Processes
  • Desmear
  • Electroless Copper Plating
  • Electroless Nickel Plating
  • Electrolytic Copper Plating
  • Electrolytic Gold Plating
  • Electrolytic Silver Plating
  • Electrolytic Tin Plating
  • Immersion Gold Plating
  • Immersion Silver Plating
  • Immersion Tin Plating
  • Ni/Au Plating
  • PTH (Plated through-hole) Any discussion on this topic should include your chemistry supplier as well. It is critical that the bath for PTH is monitored closely.
  • Inner layer bonding operations: brown oxide (Bondfilm, Multibond, etc.), (white ‘oxide’ – immersion Tin)
Etch Adjust Module (EAM)
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Add EAM to
  • CC8000 Etching Systems
  • XLi Etching Systems
Advantages
  • Plated boards: Correct side to side etch difference when one side is plated more
  • Fine-tune very small features
Ion Exchange System
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Features
  • Closed-loop system
  • Decrease your water usage by connecting an ion exchange to your rinse water
CC8000 Chemical Cleaning System
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Cleaner (Stand Alone)
  • Alkaline Clean to Acid Clean
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
Common Chemicals
  • Acid Cleaner
  • Alkaline Cleaner
CC8000 Developing Systems
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • Developer (Stand Alone)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
Common Chemicals
  • 1% Potassium Carbonate
  • 1% Sodium Carbonate
Common Resists
  • dry film photoresists
  • liquid photoresists
  • Aqueous solder mask resist (dry and liquid)
  • And many more resists
CC8000 Etching Systems
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
  • Etcher (Stand Alone)
  • SES (Strip – Etch – Strip)
Common Chemicals
  • Alkaline Etchant
  • Cupric Chloride Etchant
  • Ferric chloride Etchant
  • Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)
  • Micro etch
Common Materials Etched
  • Aluminum
  • Copper
  • Glass
  • Steel
  • Titanium
  • And more
CC8000 Stripping Systems
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Available Conveyor Widths
  • 20″
  • 30″
  • 40″
  • 50″
  • 60″
Common Processes
  • Custom Size (1 to as many chambers as you want)
  • DES (Develop – Etch – Strip)
  • SES (Strip – Etch – Strip)
  • Stripper (Stand Alone)
Common Chemicals
  • Sodium Hydroxide
  • Potassium Hydroxide
  • Proprietary Aqueous or Semi-Aqueous Stripper
  • Metal Resist Stripper

Related Resources

 || 11 Things Needed to Start a Chemical Etching Plant | Chemcut Blog

11 Things Needed to Start a Chemical Etching Plant | Chemcut Blog

11 Things You Need to Start a Chemical Etching Plant Chemical etching has been around since 2500...

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 || Copper Etchant Options | ChemCut

Copper Etchant Options | ChemCut

Copper etching is a vital manufacturing process that tends to be used in the manufacturing of...

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 || Understanding The etching Process

Understanding The etching Process

Chemical etching is a widely used technique in the manufacturing industry for selectively removing...

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