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The Chemical Connection: Common Misconceptions in Wet Processing

04/28/2025 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical Connection
Initially, I thought an April Fool’s column would be fun this month. I could highlight some of the crazier ideas and misconceptions I’ve witnessed over the years from potential customers and we could all have a good laugh. For example, there was a first-time buyer of a ferric chloride etcher (with no regeneration system) who was astonished to learn that he had to put fresh etchant in the system occasionally to maintain production.

The Chemical Connection: Controlling an Alkaline Etch Bath With Low Copper Loading

08/07/2024 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical Connection
This month, I wanted to continue my discussion on how much process control is actually needed for high-density circuit production. However, in the last month, I have been called on to help with a specific process control problem: how to control an alkaline etch bath when you’re not etching much copper. This problem has been cropping up more frequently as smaller shops (and a few larger ones) concentrate on low-volume, high-value plated through-hole panels such as prototypes, resistor cores, etc.

The Chemical Connection: Reducing Etch System Water Usage, Part 2

05/02/2024 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical Connection
In my last column, I reviewed some relatively simple ways to reduce water usage in existing etch systems: cutting down cooling coil water flow, adding chillers to replace plant water for cooling, lowering flow rate nozzles for rinses, etc. This month, I’ll continue with more ways to control water usage in your etcher. Most of these are not easily retrofittable to existing equipment but should be given serious consideration when new equipment is contemplated. With the right combination of add-ons, it is possible to bring the amount of water used in an etch system to almost zero.

The Chemical Connection: The High Cost of Etcher Non-maintenance

12/28/2023 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical Connection
We all understand that day-to-day maintenance and long-term preventive maintenance of etching equipment is a good thing. However, the pressing need to get product out the door in the face of tough production schedules can sometimes cause us to delay necessary maintenance for long periods of time. In some cases, we become fixated on short-term production and forget about long-term stability.

Brigitflex Purchases 60 Inch-Wide Chemcut Etcher for Printed Circuit Board Production

10/26/2023 | Chemcut Corporation
Brigitflex Inc., a manufacturer of large circuit boards, has purchased a 60-inch-wide etcher from Chemcut, the United States’ leading manufacturer and supplier of Develop/Etch/Strip equipment. The new etcher will be included with their Exellon 154L Vision Driller & Router System, along with their state-of-the-art Autoclave machine. The new tool will be installed in their Elgin, IL. manufacturing facility.
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