Wet Chemical Etching Processing Equipment – Wet Etching Machine

 Wet Processing Equipment for All Chemical Etching Purposes

Wet Chemical Etching Machine

Wet Processing Equipment – wet etching machine

The etching machine is used to spray chemical solution to a copper-clad laminator, aluminum substrate, or stainless steel plate, the exposed copper, aluminum, and stainless steel are etched away, retaining the pattern or circuit covered by the corrosion-proof film, so as to achieve the purpose of making pattern or circuit.

The etching machine is divided into an acid etching machine, an alkaline etching machine, and a hydrofluoric acid glass etching machine (the three kinds of etching machines can be provided by our company).

Metals that can be processed by wet etching machine

Wet Processing Equipment

The acid etching machine is mostly used for etching the inner layer of the circuit board, and the production of small batches of various types of sample boards. Acid copper chloride is generally used (copper chloride is added with hydrochloric acid), which is characterized by easy control, small side corrosion, a large amount of dissolved copper, easy regeneration and recovery, and the etching solution can achieve high-quality etching under stable conditions.

The alkaline etching machine is used for the outer layer of circuit boards, large-scale double-sided board production, and the production of aluminum substrates. Its alkaline etching process has the advantages of cost-saving and easy control.

Wet Chemical Etching Machine

Watch the video to learn what wet etching is

Customize your Equipment

  • Check out our Wet Processing Equipment.
  • Select the product you are interested in, to find all your possible options.
  • Then contact your sales rep to get moving on your new piece of equipment.
  • If no products catch your eye please contact us. We have done many 100% customized machines!
Before putting your etching machine into production, it’s crucial to make sure it’s gone through some serious factory testing. Think of it like a check-up at the doctor’s office – we test every part of the machine to make sure it’s running smoothly and doesn’t have any underlying issues. These tests are like a guarantee that your etching machine will work like a charm and produce top-notch results. In this video, we’ll take you through our own factory testing process, so you can rest easy knowing your machine is ready for prime time.

Our metal etching equipment processing workshop

Features that can be added to a wet etching machine:

  • Acid Controller – Popular for cupric chloride etchant
  • Drying – Ensures products come out of the line dry.
  • Inline Filtration  Results in fewer clogged nozzles and particles in solution.
  • Ion Exchange – Saves water in rinse stations.
  • pH Controller – Popular option for Alkaline etching. Standard on developing and resisting stripping lines.
  • Ventilation Demister – Aids in condensation and recovery of evaporated process chemistry.
  • Thin Material Transport – Transport very thin and flexible materials without the use of leaders.
  • Drip Pan – Catches chemistry drops or spills
  • Chiller Cooling System – Increased cooling capabilities.
  • ORP Controller – Popular option for Cupric and Ferric etchers. Comes with a regeneration system.
  • Specific Gravity Controller (IX) with Visual Baume – Prevents etchant Baume from getting too low or high.
  • Recipe-Driven Operation – Eliminates product variation due to improper machine set-up.
  • Data Collection and Archiving  Gives real-time and historical feedback analysis.

Popular Wet Processing Combination Equipment

(DES) Develop – Etch – Strip Line

(DES) Develop – Etch – Strip Line

DES noun explanation

(D) Developing

In photofabrication, developing is the post-exposure process.

Dissolve and remove the photoresist other than those required and form a pattern image of the photoresist.

There is a “soaking method” of immersion in the developer and a “spray method” of spraying, and there is a common use of spray methods in terms of supply efficiency of the developer.

Immediately after the development, a set of heating treatments called post-baking are carried out.

The post-baking box hardens the photoresist, which results in resistance to etching fluid in the next process and improves adherence to substrates.

(E) Etching

Etching is a post-developing process.

While continuously transporting using etchants suitable for metal materials (products), a large amount of etching is performed uniformly by the spray method.

As the management of the etchant is important, an etchant autoanalyzer is installed as a supplementary facility, and various chemicals are automatically supplied based on the feedback of each component analysis to maintain a constant etching rate.

(S) Stripping

Stripping is the post-etching process.

After etching, dissolve the unnecessary photoresist film.

Depending on the type of photo registry, sodium hydroxide heated around 40 to 80℃ or 100℃ is commonly used.

In the case of special resist, mixed solvents such as xylene, alcohols, and ketones may be used.

If the product cannot be stripped by immersion, physical force such as a brush or spray is applied to the product. Immediately after stripping, De-ionized water cleaning, drying, and rust prevention are performed as a set.

DES Line’s Advantages

By installing 3 processes on one device…

  1. the unit’s area becomes smaller.
  2. Since there is only one inlet (LD) and outlet (ULD), it can be operated by a minimum number of people.
  3. It’s cheaper than purchasing three separate machine

DES Line’s disadvantages

By installing 3 processes on one device…

  1. The tact time of the device is rate-determining in the slowest process.
  2. When a product defect occurs, it is difficult to determine which process is the cause.
  3. It is not suitable for various kinds of products whose processing conditions change significantly.
  4. It is not suitable for research and development purposes that assess and select types of photoresist or film thickness.

(SES) Strip – Etch – Strip Line (outer layers)

The Dragon Etching SES lines with innovative filter systems clean the entire stripping solution before it is returned to the tank container. Depending on the resist type, a cyclone filter system, a drum filter system, or a combination of both is used. The stripping process adjusts to the type of resist and then removes the remaining photoresist on the circuits.

Strip-Etch-Strip (SES)

Typically used for PCB outer layer etching

The options do not stop there. WET ETCHING wet processing machines are modular — allowing you to configure your machine in any order you desire.

If you have equipment needs, please feel free to contact us.