Chemical Milling Services
Surface Milling
Chemical milling is the process of removing surface material using chemical dissolution. Tech Met can chemically mill features, size parts, remove weight and prepare surfaces by removing unwanted surface conditions.
The removal process can be a global removal on all surfaces of a component or performed selectively, using masking techniques to provide pockets of removal or patterns as required by the application.
Precise removals are accomplished by continuous monitoring and active process control to include careful control chemistry, engineered part agitation, and extensive process knowledge.
By continuous monitoring, extensive process knowledge and active process control of chemical, thermal, mechanical and temporal parameters.
Chemical Milling of complex surfaces to achieve specific dimensions, reduce weight and increase performance
Selective Chemical Milling
To achieve selective milling Tech Met provides masking using bath dip and airless spray applications including robotic spray application techniques in specific cases for consistency and control.
Scribing is done using customer supplied templates or templates developed in house. In some cases laser scribing is used to precisely locate the desired pockets.
Removal depths and locations of selective pockets are engineered and quality certified to meet all drawing specifications.
Parts are precisely masked to ensure that only the specified areas of the piece is chemically milled
Taper Milling
Chemical milling to produce progressively tapered thicknesses in sheet, bar and tube components made from any of the alloys that can be milled. Taper milling can be used to repair collapsed casings, liners or tubing, designed to clean without cutting or damaging the surfaces. Chemical taper mills are available in various sizes and configurations.
Tapered milling is performed by lowering and raising the work piece in and out of the milling solution as it etches. The rates of movement are matched to the part requirements and controlled through automated systems. Though typically performed to create linear tapering, varying the speeds of immersion and extraction with the curvature of the workpiece allows curved features to be tapered as well.
Tapered or Contoured milling can facilitate customer removal profiles across lengths up to 24 feet
Decorative Pattern Milling
Tech Met can use various techniques to produce etched patterns or printed art effects on large flat panels for architectural applications. Techniques include pattern screening or laser scribing of maskants to produce the desired pattern.
Using chemical milling to create surface geometry and textures for architectural applications
3D Photo Chemical Etching
Flat as well as 3D curved surfaces can be precisely etched to tight tolerances of up to 0.00025". Through chemical milling, we accurately etch patterns on a wide range of materials. Photo chemical etching produces highly complex parts with very fine detail and dimensional repeatably.
Part detail pre and post photo chemical etching on a 3D curved surface