etching stencils

I

invictusmaneo

Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
42
called around, and went into a local publishing shop that does vinyl signs. None were too sure about what I was talking about, or at least any way of making small stencils that are semi-reusable for acid etching like I have seen talked about on here. I searched, but am in quest of some specific answers.

I know there is this sight:
http://www.erniesknives.com/Etching Stencils.htm

but was trying to see if there was anyone local that could do it, since some had mentioned vinyl sign shops.


What exactly am I looking for material wise? Any specifics?

Muchos gracias...seems like I'm on a roll for stupid questions lately
 
Years ago I worked in a sign shop when this whole vinyl thing was just getting popular. We had some rubber (about 1/16" thick) stuff that was designed for sandblasting. You could have the CNC plotter cut out the design and then you could choose to leave the letters and blast around them or take the letters out and blast the letter in the substrate (negative or positive). Maybe this would work, but this was not reusable (at least back then).
 
For reuseable etching you want to be doing electro-chem etching not acid etching. www.tustech.com is where i get my stencils done, they can provide electrolyte as well and other materials and machines. I use a Lectroetch VT15-A power unit for my etching.
 
ok call me an idiot (fine by me) I guess I am incorrect in calling it acid etching..well maybe

using vinegar-salt water solution and an electric charge..that is electro-chem etching huh?
 
Yes, you're talking about electro-etching.
The stencils are made from a piece of silk(or synthetic) fabric that is treated with a light sensitive liquid emulsion. The emulsion stays in a simi-solid state untill it is exposed to light. Once it is exposed to light it becomes hard.
The idea is to create a mask in the shape of your logo. You can do this by printing your logo in black ink(or toner) on a transparent piece of paper called vellum. Then you use the mask to block the light and prevent it from shining on the emulsion. You do that by placing your mask underneath the stencil-material, in between it and your light source. The areas that are blocked by your mask stay in the semi-solid state while all of the areas that are exposed to light become hard. Then when you are done exposing the stencil to light, you can rise away the semi-solid areas that were covered by your logo/mask. The other solid areas will stay intact. The silk fabric holds the whole thing together. That is how you make the stencil. It's the same process that screen printers use to make silk screens for printing on T-shirts. Screen printing shops have fancy high-tech exposure units for controlling how much light is used to expose the stencils. A screen printing shop could help you. But you can rig up your own exposure unit making a box with a door, a piece of glass and a light bulb.
You can get your stencil material from www.tustech.com and probably other places.
You can make your own electro etching unit too. I watched an instructional DVD called "The Electrolysis of Metalworking" by Bob Warner. He tells you how to do all of this stuff and build all your own equipment for cheap. He shows you how to build one machine that will electro-etch, anodize and plate. It uses a Variac, a bridge rectifier and some fairly simple wiring. He also shows you how to make a light exposure unit for making your stencils and everything. I have not built one of those machines yet but I definitely will build one in the future.
 
TUSTECH!!! these guys rock... quick turn around and great prices.... stencils hold up wat better than other in the industry from what iv'e heard. can't beat em. ask for Eric when you call them
 
I guess I'm about where your at...I just "built" a simple electroetcher out of a 18 volt Compaq power supply which delivers 1.9 amps of dc!...works real well but I'm not very good at cutting out the stencils so I contacted my local sign shop...the gal is working on cutting out some vinyl stencils with my logo ( they do vinyl stickers and she thought she could do a masking type stencil out of the same)...so we'll see what happens! email me if ya want to!
 
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