Right As i have promised here is the pe tutorial
part one deals with making pe parts
Ok so you want to make or put a pe part into a model this will help! its not the be all and end all it is a simple way to make photo etched parts that most people can easily accomplish with a few basic tools
so here we go!
First of all you need to decide what part or bit you want to etch#then its a simple mater of drawing it in a cad programme i use cadvance which is free see here
http://www.cadvance.com/65form.htm using this programme you can draw you parts whatever size and them reduce them for your printer to produce the actual size required! now here is the good bit all you need is some overhead projector film with which you print out two copies! one for the front and one for the back of your bit of brass sheet you have to measure accurately so that both sheets are positioned front and back correctly then taped together on two sides (this will then give you a pocket in which to slide the brass sheet into. Now take your peice of brass and clean it thouroghly no fingerprints or grease to be seen on it at all (best use cotton gloves to handle it) Now if you pay a visit to maplins you can buy a basic photo etch set for about 14.00 mix up some photo resist and then dip your brass sheet into it making sure that it is well covered (do not touch the sheet with bare fingers) place the sheet under a dish and let it dry! or you can put it into a oven on very low heat to help it along the way. Once dry you can insert the brass sheet between the pouch of carrier film then tape down the open ends. Now if you have an ultra violet light expose the film to it for about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side! You can just take it out into the garden if its a sunny day but you will need to leave it exposed for anything between 10 to 20 mins now take you brass sheet out of the pouch and dip it into a bath of the developing solution 20 to 30 secs is usually enough then a quick dip in distilled water to stop the process and your ready to etch! A plastic etching tray also available from maplins is a good buy if your going to be doing a lot of etching ! into this you mix your etching powder and water the water needs to be about 40 to 50 c make sure that your brass sheet is totally imersed in the solution i use a couple of pegs to hold the edges and suspend the sheet in the solution tray (oh you must use rubber gloves this stuff is acid just remember that if it can eat brass what will it do to your skin) After about 10 mins remove the brass to see how far the etching process has got if complete fine if not put back in and check every minute to see when completed ! once your happy take the part out and rinse under running water and you now have your own individual PE parts.
Linear Mode
