Anyone do their own photo-etches?
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tomstockton
Tom Stockton
Ian,
Well, one good thing about a UV lamp is that you are working in a controlled environment -- you (should) have no variance in intensity. Of course, by using a UV lamp you've added to your overall costs. But on the other hand, you can work anytime you wish -- nights, rainy days, etc.
Regards,
Tom
Well, one good thing about a UV lamp is that you are working in a controlled environment -- you (should) have no variance in intensity. Of course, by using a UV lamp you've added to your overall costs. But on the other hand, you can work anytime you wish -- nights, rainy days, etc.
Regards,
Tom
Indeed - The MM instructions say 10 minutes @ 4" under a standard 100w bulb with a reflector - I think I'm gonna try that later - Clouds are just another variable & something I'm not used to!.....
Cheers,
Ian
Hmmph!.....
- The good news is my bench grinder has a 100W bulb on a flexi-arm - Popped the work under there for 10 mins (per side) and the artwork did indeed transfer "as advertised".
- The bad news - Once again, it all fell off during developing - and I was a lot more careful/judicious with the timing & brushing
Given the low light level, I think the next attempt will be 20 minutes per side - FWIW, I just don't think the resist is hardening enough - I have been blaming the development, but am now suspecting I'm not exposing for long enough. [I even suspect it would be almost impossible to over-expose under a 100w light?]
Again, this is just a WAG. I could be way off, so any and all comments welcome.
Cheers,
Ian
"Success!".... Woo-hoo!
Actually, I guess "progress" would be a better term.....
I switched to stainless - Figured may as well.
Exposed for 17seconds (per side) under the beautiful CA sun. Went very carefully with the developer - No where near as long as they suggest. [I believe my temperatures are significantly higher than when they did the instructions.]
I did not heat the FC - Ambient was about 70degs when I did this one, and in places it's overdone - Only one of the #'s for example is still useable. Other places it's not quite finished.
Lessons learnt;
- I need to "bulk up" the #'s - Very easy to do in Inkscape by applying a "stroke" to the objects. [A stroke was applied to the fully etched "Ford"s but not the half etch version.]
- It took ~20 minutes in the FC - I rotated it regularly and examined it every 5 minutes or so. I may also flip the next one over for a few minutes.
A long way from "perfect", but overall I'm pretty satisfied with it.
Cheers,
Ian
PS - The last 2 pix are under plexiglass to try and eliminate the shadows.
Actually, I guess "progress" would be a better term.....
I switched to stainless - Figured may as well.
Exposed for 17seconds (per side) under the beautiful CA sun. Went very carefully with the developer - No where near as long as they suggest. [I believe my temperatures are significantly higher than when they did the instructions.]
I did not heat the FC - Ambient was about 70degs when I did this one, and in places it's overdone - Only one of the #'s for example is still useable. Other places it's not quite finished.
Lessons learnt;
- I need to "bulk up" the #'s - Very easy to do in Inkscape by applying a "stroke" to the objects. [A stroke was applied to the fully etched "Ford"s but not the half etch version.]
- It took ~20 minutes in the FC - I rotated it regularly and examined it every 5 minutes or so. I may also flip the next one over for a few minutes.
A long way from "perfect", but overall I'm pretty satisfied with it.
Cheers,
Ian
PS - The last 2 pix are under plexiglass to try and eliminate the shadows.
Pity about the numbers, but the Ford logos came out great.
You're being too kind
If I'm honest, I'd say they came out "OK", not quite "great"....
But, a pretty good start IMHO
Studying the pix, I'm thinking swap the #'s "line" (currently the most "blasted") with the bottom Ford line (which is under-etched) - The more delicate stuff to the outside.....(?)
FWIW, I never did find a valve for the airline, so that's still going flat out.... The smaller work size definitely helped. And, it allows for much better utilization of the metal, carrier sheets, resist et al.
Cheers,
Ian
Well, it showed up the other day - The supply is rated @ 4v, 300mA and the anode is about 2" square, total.
The instructions note to polish the work (Flitz is recommended) first - This stuff will not hide any imperfections whatsoever..... However, I couldn't come up with a way to polish the part, so simply went for it! - I think I overplated the thing (had to pull the majority of the anode out of solution), but it's a satisfactory start.......
FWIW, the kit is actually made by "Caswell Plating" and exclusively distributed by MM - The Caswell site has some pretty active forums about metal finishing, but mainly "full size" stuff - Even the "Copy Chrome" forum seems to be more about plating (real!) engine parts and so on - I did ask a few Q's (link below if anyone's interested) but despite almost 200 views haven't received any comments back as yet
Cheers,
Ian
My Q's; http://forum.caswellplating.com/cop...-tiny-copy-chrome-kit-photo-etched-parts.html
Thanks for the encouragement - It really does help! [I'll even try and get some better pix for you!]
Can't wait for you to get going - Two setups will substantially decrease our learning curves - Get on it!
Thanks! It's getting there.....
I too noticed that after I took the pic...... That's certainly not the case with the "standard" Blue Oval that we see today - I dunno if they've changed it over the years (?), but at least for me, it's "close enough".....
What would make my life a little easier is if it were just one piece! The "F" and the "ord" are two separate pieces - Getting 'em aligned was "challenging"!
Incidentally, I thickened the little triangular "sprues" (as suggested by RW&C - thanks!) and left them fully protected - As a result it was a little difficult cutting the piece out! - The next one will have those half etched and smaller.
Thanks again for the comments guys,
Cheers,
Ian
....FWIW, the kit is actually made by "Caswell Plating" and exclusively distributed by MM - The Caswell site has some pretty active forums about metal finishing, but mainly "full size" stuff - Even the "Copy Chrome" forum seems to be more about plating (real!) engine parts and so on - I did ask a few Q's (link below if anyone's interested) but despite almost 200 views haven't received any comments back as yet
Hmmph!.... What I believe to be a few pretty "basic" questions I've asked in the Caswell forums have now received almost 400 views without a solitary comment!
[My last post postulates that I've stumbled upon a secret society to which I don't know the secret handshake!]Oh well, bash on regardless!
Cheers,
Ian
tomstockton
Tom Stockton
Ian,
I'm still enjoying your posts and pics! Also looking forward to seeing your finished Ford switcher.
BTW: what model are you using as your base? Just curious...
Regards,
Tom
I'm still enjoying your posts and pics! Also looking forward to seeing your finished Ford switcher.
BTW: what model are you using as your base? Just curious...
Regards,
Tom
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Thanks for the continued encouragement! A way to go yet, but as I noted above, I think I've shown that it can be done - A little more experience and I reckon I'll be pumping out chromed PE parts at will (ad nauseam?
)The base model is the same (el cheapo Bachmann) GE 44 tonner that I re-did into V&T colors a while back [Details in the "painting a GE 44 tonner, how crazy should I go?" thread herein.]
However, given the "effort" I'm putting into these (silly?
) parts I'm certainly open to other ideas on this - One thing I haven't figured out for example is how to deepen the "skirts" around the walkway...... Any ideas for a different base model gratefully received!
Cheers,
Ian
tomstockton
Tom Stockton
Ian,
On deepening the skirts -- thin brass sheeting, applied to the existing skirts? Or maybe styrene?
Another thought on the PE grills -- is there any existing PE grills that you could curve and piece together to make the front / rear grills? Maybe EMD E and F unit side grills? Probably not, just thought I throw it out there...
If you're a "master" with the soldering iron, I suppose you could make a jig out of a hardwood, carve recesses where the cross-members would lay, fit in brass wire, then solder the uprights at each end and in the middle... And I say "I suppose you could" -- me, I have more than enough trouble soldering feeder wires to track, let alone try something as small as a grill!
Nah, PE is probably the way to go -- although making a jig to bend the cross-members with uniform curves and angles just might work.
Looking forward to your further adventures in photo-etching!!
Regards,
Tom
On deepening the skirts -- thin brass sheeting, applied to the existing skirts? Or maybe styrene?
Another thought on the PE grills -- is there any existing PE grills that you could curve and piece together to make the front / rear grills? Maybe EMD E and F unit side grills? Probably not, just thought I throw it out there...
If you're a "master" with the soldering iron, I suppose you could make a jig out of a hardwood, carve recesses where the cross-members would lay, fit in brass wire, then solder the uprights at each end and in the middle... And I say "I suppose you could" -- me, I have more than enough trouble soldering feeder wires to track, let alone try something as small as a grill!
Nah, PE is probably the way to go -- although making a jig to bend the cross-members with uniform curves and angles just might work.
Looking forward to your further adventures in photo-etching!!
Regards,
Tom
greasemonkey
New Member
I just found this thread last night, and I wanted to say thanks for posting everything. I have had one of these kits sitting in the basement for quite some time, but have never got around to trying it. This could very well be the motivation I needed. I think the artwork is going to be the hardest part for me, as I'm only just learning Corel Draw.
As for the question of who is doing it in the UK, a friend of mine uses these folks, and is very happy with them.
http://www.ppdltd.com/
As for the question of who is doing it in the UK, a friend of mine uses these folks, and is very happy with them.
http://www.ppdltd.com/
I tried various sizes of styrene, and could certainly get the straight parts deeper. The problem arises where they "bend" around the corners - Looks really nice in the prototype, but is proving "challenging" here...... Another "issue" is the walkway goes all round on Fords version - The one I have doesn't have the depth needed - Maybe I'll extend the whole mess and/or shorten the hoods..... [The famous pic attached again to save searching it out
] As long as a few folk at least continue to comment, I'll continue to post - It's certainly an adventure!..... I've just started "rev4" of the artwork - Will incorporate a couple of different grille designs - The initial attempt incorporated the headlight bezel, but that's a separate piece - At least for now.....Cheers,
Ian
All righty then! I was starting to think I was the only one!.....
Thanks for the thanks! - Really does make the effort needed to post seem worthwhile.....
I don't know Corel Draw, but as long as you remember that "black stays & clear etches" you'll get there. I also learnt that making the "back" side (where you group the whole thing, copy & mirror it) should only be done once you've 100% completed the front side. [Don't ask!
]I can (I think?) PM you one of my artworks in SVG or PNG format for "reference" if you want? - Maybe a little easier than starting from scratch (?)
Good luck - If we can get a few folk "comparing notes" I reckon we'll all benefit.
Cheers,
Ian
Interesting link (even if the site needs a little clean up) - But, they are in Scotland
FWIW, the following is unashamedly "lifted" from their site - Some info I hadn't been able to find elsewhere:
Seem like "reasonable" numbers to me - Mine were kind of "random" depending on where I put the little triangle!.....
Cheers,
Ian
