Chemical Processes

• Chemical Milling

• Photochemical Milling

• Electropolishing
 Chemical Milling
• Chemical milling (CHM) is the controlled chemical dissolution
(CD) of the workpiece material by contact with a strong
reagent.
• Special coatings called maskants protect areas from which the
metal is not to be removed.
• The process is used to produce pockets and contours and to
remove materials from parts having a high strength-to-weight
ratio
 Steps in chemical milling
• Preparing and precleaning the workpiece surface. This
provides good adhesion of the masking material and assures
the absence of contaminants that might interfere with the
machining process.
• Masking using readily strippable mask, which is chemically
impregnable and adherent enough to stand chemical abrasion
during etching.
• Scribing of the mask, which is guided by templates to expose
the areas that receive CHM. The type of mask selected
depends on the size of the workpiece,
• The workpiece is then etched and rinsed, and the mask is
removed before the part is finished.
 Steps in chemical milling
• During CHM, the depth of the etch is controlled by the time of
immersion.
• In order to avoid uneven machining, the chemicals that impinge
on the surface being machined should be fresh.
• The chemicals used are very corrosive and, therefore, must be
handled with adequate safety precautions.
• When the mask is used, the machining action proceeds both
inwardly from the mask opening and laterally beneath the mask
thus creating the etch factor.
• The etch factor is the ratio of the undercut d to the depth of etch T.
This ratio must be considered when scribing the mask using
templates.
• A typical etch factor of 1:1 occurs at a cut depth of 1.27 mm.
Deeper cuts can reduce this ratio to 1:3. The radii of the fillet
produced will be approximately equal to the depth of etch.
 Tooling for CHM
• Maskants
• Etchants
• Scribing templates
• Accessories
 Maskants
• Masking material which is called maskant is used to protect
workpiece surface from chemical etchant.
• Polymer or rubber based materials are generally used for
masking procedure.
• Maskants should, however, possess the following properties:
1. Tough enough to withstand handling
2. Well adhering to the workpiece surface
3. Easy scribing
4. Inert to the chemical reagent used
5. Able to withstand the heat used during chemical machining
6. Easy and inexpensive removal after chemical machining
etching
 Maskants
• Multiple maskant coatings are used to provide a higher etchant
resistance.
• Long exposure time is needed when thicker and rougher dip or
spray coatings are used.
• Various maskant application methods can be used such as dip,
brush, spray, and electro coating as well as adhesive tapes.
Maskants
 Etchants
• Etchants are acid or alkaline solutions maintained within a
controlled range of chemical composition and temperature.
• Their main technical goals are to achieve the following:
1. Good surface finish
2. Uniformity of metal removal
3. Control of selective and intergranular attack
4. Control of hydrogen absorption in the case of titanium alloys
5. Maintenance of personal safety
6. Best price and reliability for the materials to be used in the
construction of the process tank
7. Maintainance of air quality and avoidance of possible
environmental problems
 Etchants

8. Low cost per unit weight dissolved

9. Ability to regenerate the etchant solution and/or readily

neutralize and dispose of its waste products

 Scribing templates
• Scribing templates are used to define the areas for exposure to
the chemical machining action.
• The most common workpiece scribing method is to cut the
mask with a sharp knife followed by careful peeling of the
mask from the selected areas
 Accessories

• Accessories include tanks, hooks, brackets, racks, and fixtures.

• These are used for single- or-multiple-piece handling into and

out of the etchants and rinses.

 Process parameters
CHM process parameters include:
• The reagent solution type,
o concentration,
o properties,
o mixing,
• operating temperature,
• and circulation.
 Process parameters
• These parameters will have direct impacts on the workpiece
regarding the following:
1. Etch factor (d/T )
2. Etching and machining rate
3. Production tolerance
4. Surface finish
 Advantages
1. Easy weight reduction
2. No effect of workpiece materials properties such as hardness.
3. Simultaneous material removal operation.
4. No burr formation
5. No stress introduction to the workpiece
6. Low capital cost of equipment
7. Requirement of less skilled worker
8. Low tooling costs
9. The good surface quality
10. Using decorative part production
 Disadvantages
1. Difficult to get sharp corner
2. Difficult to chemically machine thick material (limit is
depended on workpiece material, but the thickness should be
around maximum 10 mm)
3. Scribing accuracy is very limited, causes less dimensional
accuracy
4. Etchants are very dangerous for workers
5. Hydrogen pickup and intergranular attack are a problem with
some materials.
 Photochemical Milling
• Photochemical milling (PCM) is a variation of chemical
milling (CHM) where the chemically resistant mask is applied
to the workpiece by photographic techniques.
• The two processes are quite similar because they both use
chemicals to remove metal by the CD action and some of the
steps required in both cases are similar.
• The process is sometimes called photochemical blanking
(PCB) since flat, thin gauge complex parts can be machined to
high precision in thicknesses ranging from 0.013 to 1.5 mm.
 Process description
• The first step includes the production of the required shape on
a photographic film or glass plate, termed the photo-tool.
• The sheet metal is chemically cleaned, and coated with a light-
sensitive photoresist film.
• The photoresist will adhere to the part surface and act as a
stencil resist protecting the surface during etching.
• The resist laminated, or coated, metal is then placed under the
photo-tool and exposed, in a vacuum, to an ultraviolet light
source.
• This transfers the image precisely onto the resist and, after
developing,
 Process description
• The exposed image is then developed by immersion or
spraying.
• Each photoresist has its own developing solution, such as
water, alkaline solution, hydrocarbons, or solvents.
• The exposed material is then washed to remove the unexposed
photoresist on the areas to be chemically etched
Panel Cleaning and Drying
Laminating, Exposure and Developing
Laminating, Exposure and Developing

Typical photo-tool Spray Developing of image

Strip Dry-film Etch Resist
 Advantages
1. A relatively low cost per unit, especially at low production
volumes of complex designs because the tooling used is very
inexpensive compared to shearing punches and dies.
2. Lead times are often small compared to that required by
processes that require hard tooling.
3. Some design changes require simple alterations to the
photochemical machining process, such as the time of etch or
the type of etchant, which change features such as the hole
size and depth of etch.
4. Final parts are produced in the same manner as the
prototypes.
 Advantages
5. The process is burr-free.
6. It does not change the hardness, grain structure, or ductility of
metals, while metal shearing imparts stresses in the
components and laser machining creates a heat-affected zone.
7. Because tooling is made by photographic techniques, patterns
can be reproduced easily.
 Electropolishing
• Electropolishing is an electrochemical finishing technique for
stainless steel and many other alloys that accomplishes a
number of unique specific benefits. Essentially it is the
opposite of electroplating, rather than depositing a metallic
layer, metal is removed from the surface on a microscopic
level.
• Electropolishing is a diffusion-controlled process, which takes
place at the limiting current of the anodic dissolution of the
metal.
 Principle
• A direct current is accordingly introduced into the part, which is
hung from the central electrode and is surrounded by cathodes
that are negatively charged.
• The electropolishing medium is a liquid mixture of several acids
and insoluble salts.
• During electropolishing the anodic surface is subjected to the
combined effects of oxygen evolution that occurs with
electrochemical metal removal and saturation of the surface with
dissolved metal.
• The electrical resistance is, therefore, minimum at the peaks of
the surface irregularities resulting in the highest rate of anodic
dissolution process
Components of aTypical Polishing Cell
• A film of varying thickness is normally formed over the
microdepressions and is thinnest over microsurface
projections.
• Under such conditions, electropolishing selectively removes
microscopic peaks faster than the rate of attack on the
corresponding valleys.
• The basic surface of the metal becomes bright, clean, and
microscopically smooth.
• The produced surface possesses the true properties of the bulk
metal and the true crystalline structure of the metal without the
distortion produced by the cold working that always
accompanies mechanical finishing processes.
• Furthermore, no fine directional lines from abrasive polishing
are left at the EP surface.
 Process parameters
• EP is affected by many parameters that have a direct impact on
the produced surface quality and process productivity.
1. Workpiece material and condition
2. Original surface roughness
3. Current density
4. Applied voltage
5. Acid type, temperature, and agitation
• During EP it is recommended that you use a proper electrolyte,
maintain its temperature and chemical composition, and
supply a ripplefree DC power at the correct voltage.
 Applications
• Preparing surfaces for electroplating, which creates an
opportunity for the best possible adherence.
• Producing the ultimate finish for clean-room tables, chairs,
and waste containers.
• Polishing light fixtures of electrical conduits; outlet boxes; and
medical, surgical, and food processing equipment.
• Deburring and breaking sharp edges resulted from hand filing
and honing and grinding of cutting tools.
• Metallographic examination.
• Removing scale or distortions caused by annealing, nitriding,
carburizing, welding, or soldering.