Electrolytic Etching of Stainless Steel скачать в хорошем качестве

Electrolytic Etching of Stainless Steel

This is a quick and dirty demonstration of electrolytic etching that I threw together for graphictransfer. The results aren't all that impressive, but that is entirely due to the poor quality stencil that I used. I simply wrapped the knife blade in electrical tape and cut a few holes in it with a knife, which is why the edges of the etched areas look jagged- the edges of the stencil were jagged. This etching process is as good as the stencil you use, and is capable of extremely fine detail. I forgot to mention the etching time in the video. This piece took around ten minutes. I could have etched for longer, but I was concerned that I would etch right through the knife blade. This knife blade is 1.2mm thick, and the etching looks like it has gone through at least halfway. Of course, on a thicker knife blade, you could go really deep; just leave it in the tank for longer. The beauty of this process is how inexpensive and simple it is. You probably have everything you need to make a simple etching setup laying around in in your home right now! Almost any power supply can be used, and the electrolyte is just plain old table salt and water. Another advantage is that it is a very safe process, because it uses low voltages and currents, and a non-toxic electrolyte. The sludge left in the electrolyte after etching is mostly plain old rust. This certainly beats using nasty chemicals like ferric chloride, or having a sharp piece of metal spinning at thousands of rpm near your face! This method works great for stainless steel, and with a change of electrolyte can be used for other metals too. For copper or copper-based alloys such as brass, nickel silver, and bronze, try using copper sulfate, which is available from hardware stores and garden centers (sold as root killer.)