.3 Stainless steel etching/milling right thru

[Peter Vasic]

G'day guys,

Has anyone had any experience acid etching .3 mm stainless steel i.e cut right thru into various shapes and or holes etched into them. this is 304 brushed stainless. ?

any thing I need to look out for when attempting? Our current attempt has lead to some failure i.e 1/2 hour in 40C Ferric solution and virtually no etch thru.

regards
Peter

[Rodne Gold]

The etchant needs to be sprayed or very regularily agitated
Google "birmingham etch" , it gives the recipe for adding citric acid to the ferric to make it bite better and last longer
Also check your etchant isnt spent or diluted.
You can do SS with acids too for a far faster result...obviously the caveats re acids must be taken note of - Its dangerous stuff.......
Nitric works well , but you can mix acids too.

[Peter Vasic]

Thanks Rodney ,

will get into it straight away. Thanks mate, btw, things are going great with the new business.

regards
Peter