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Essentials of Photochemical Machining

Parts 1-4

presented by:

David Allen, BSc, PhD, DSc, FCIRP | Emeritus Professor of Microengineering, Cranfield University, UK

The Short Course is free for PCMI members with a coupon code. If you didn’t receive one, please contact PCMI at admin@pcmi.org.

What to Expect

Part 1: Photochemical Machining and Process Control
  • Front end for an electronics assembly etched from 0.010 in. thick AISI 316L stainless steel.
Part 2: The Role of Photoresists in PCM
  • Photoresist Development Variables and Control
    • Break-point (dwell time in a conveyorized developer chamber)
    • Temperature
    • Chemistry
    • Dry film type and thickness
    • Spray pattern and pressure
    • Rinsing and drying
Part 3: Metal Products and the Etchants used in PCM
  • Monitoring FeCl3 Etchants: a need to be predictive rather than reactive
    • Temperature (should be constant)
    • Baumé (specific gravity)
    • Free-acid (HCl) content
    • Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP)
    • Dissolved metal content
    • Additives (if applicable)
Part 4: Etching with Ferric Chloride and its Regeneration
  • Regeneration with sodium chlorate – Often referred to as the BEAC (Balanced Etchant Analysis
    Controller) process.

Purchase courses altogether or separately

Essentials of Photochemical Machining (Entire Course)

Part 1: Photochemical Machining and Process Control

Part 2: The Role of Photoresists in PCM

Part 3: Metal Products and the Etchants used in PCM

Part 4: Etching with Ferric Chloride and its Regeneration

David Allen

David Allen

Emeritus Professor of Micro Engineering

Cranfield University

About the Author
Bio

Emeritus Professor David Allen started his career as a chemist (BSc, 1968) and moved into photochemistry research (PhD, 1972) while studying at Cardiff University. Following post-doctoral research at Warwick University and imaging technology development in industry, David joined Cranfield University in 1976. He was appointed a Technical Liaison Member to the Photo Chemical Machining Institute (PCMI) in 1981 and is currently on the Board of Directors of PCMI responsible for education. David became Professor of Microengineering at Cranfield University in 1998 and was elected as a Fellow of The International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) in 2006.

David has published:

  • Two PCM books:
    “The Principles and Practice of Photochemical Machining and Photoetching” (1986) and “Photochemical Machining and Photoelectroforming” (2015, reprinted 2016, 2017 and 2019)
  • Five book chapters on non-conventional machining and contributed the chapter on ‘Etching’ to the on-line CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
  • Seven confidential industrial PCM consortium reports
  • 213 journal and conference papers and was awarded the higher doctoral degree of DSc from Cranfield University in 2013 for his thesis entitled “Contributions to Photochemical Machining and Photoelectroforming”.

David retired from academia in 2011 and he now carries out consultancy and staff training in PCM companies across the world. He has worked with 28 different companies over the past 13 years.