Titanium Chemical Etching — Engineering Reference
Wet chemical etching of Titanium is a precision subtractive process that defines fine features by selectively dissolving the metal through a photoresist-patterned mask. On Titanium specifically, the etchant choice, bath temperature, and conveyor speed combine to set the etch factor, undercut, and yield envelope every production run lives in.
Why Wet Chemical Etching for Titanium?
Compared to laser, stamping, or wire EDM, wet chemical etching imparts no mechanical or thermal load to Titanium. The process is parallel — every feature on a sheet etches simultaneously — so feature count has no impact on tooling cost. For Titanium parts with hundreds or thousands of micro-features per piece, that is the dominant economic argument.
- Burr-free, stress-free edges — no post-deburring on Titanium required.
- Tooling cost flat with feature complexity — only the photomask changes.
- Fast prototype iteration — artwork edits, not tool re-cuts.
- Tight tolerance on thin gauge Titanium (down to ±25 μm in production).
- Compatible with downstream passivation, plating, electropolishing.
Process Window for Titanium
Production lines etching Titanium run a closed-loop temperature band of typically ±1.5 °C, with bath specific gravity monitored each shift via hydrometer or refractometer. Conveyor speed inversely tracks sheet thickness: thinner stock runs faster, thicker stock slower, with the goal of holding etch factor (EF) above 2.5 and single-side undercut below thirty microns wherever possible. For Titanium, the recommended chemistry is HF(5%)+HNO₃(30%).
| Recommended etchant | HF(5%)+HNO₃(30%) |
|---|---|
| Bath temperature window | 40 – 55 °C (chemistry-dependent) |
| Specific gravity setpoint | 1.30 – 1.45 g/cm³ for ferric chloride systems |
| Conveyor speed range | 0.4 – 8.0 m/min (thickness-dependent) |
| Typical etch factor (EF) | 2.5 – 3.0 |
| Single-side undercut | 5 – 40 μm depending on depth and thickness |
| Minimum hole diameter | ≈ 1.2× sheet thickness |
| Minimum line width | ≈ 1.0× sheet thickness |
| Mass-production yield | 95 – 99% on mature recipes for Titanium |
Common Applications for Chemically Etched Titanium
Across the markets we serve, chemically etched Titanium is most often deployed in filtration meshes, lead frames and connector blanks, surgical and consumer blades, EMI shielding gaskets, heat-dissipation vents, and decorative architectural pieces. Thickness and feature complexity push different applications onto different recipes.
Related Recipes & Process Parameters
Every formula and parameter row below is a live page on this site with the full chemistry, conveyor speed, and tolerance window for the exact material-thickness-etchant combination. These are the references our process engineers cite from on production shifts.
Related Material References
Related Production Applications
Related Process Equipment
Frequently Asked Questions
How does temperature affect the etch rate on Titanium?
Etch rate roughly doubles for every 10 °C of bath temperature increase. We operate Titanium baths within ±1.5 °C of setpoint to keep undercut and etch factor in tolerance.
Is Titanium chemical etching suitable for medical or aerospace parts?
Yes. The process produces stress-free, burr-free parts with no recast layer — exactly the surface condition required by medical, aerospace, and high-reliability applications using Titanium.
What thickness range is supported for Titanium?
Production runs on Titanium typically cover 0.02 mm to 2.0 mm sheet stock. Different thicknesses use the same chemistry; only conveyor speed and feature tolerances change.
What is the minimum feature size on Titanium?
As a working rule, the minimum hole diameter scales as 1.2× sheet thickness and minimum line width as ~1.0× thickness for Titanium. At the fine end, photoresist resolution becomes the limiting factor — not the etchant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the typical lead time and minimum order for Wet Chemical Etching Titanium?
Because etching needs no hard tooling, Wet Chemical Etching Titanium can be prototyped quickly and scaled to volume. Share your drawing and quantity and we will advise lead time.
Which industries use Wet Chemical Etching Titanium?
Wet Chemical Etching Titanium is used across electronics, medical, automotive, aerospace and industrial filtration — anywhere precise, burr-free thin-metal parts are required.
What is Wet Chemical Etching Titanium and how is it made?
Wet Chemical Etching Titanium is produced by photochemical etching — a process that uses a patterned resist and etchant to remove metal precisely, with no mechanical stress or burrs.