Patent ID: 8721955

Claim:
An apparatus for etching a pattern in an etching zone laid out on a substrate, said apparatus comprising a pen that can be freely moved manually relative to said etching zone, said pen being equipped with an etching head able to etch said substrate at an etching point when etching is triggered, a measuring unit for measuring position and orientation of said etching head relative to said substrate, a control unit configured to calculate coordinates of said etching point as a function of said measured position and orientation of said etching head relative to said substrate, to trigger etching at said etching point if said calculated coordinates of said etching point correspond to coordinates of a point to be etched, said coordinates of said point to be etched being encoded in a prerecorded drawing of said pattern, and to automatically prevent etching otherwise, and a first removable reference terminal that can be manually positioned on said substrate, said removable reference terminal being associated with a corresponding point of said pattern by a predetermined relationship that is independent of a position of said reference terminal on said substrate, wherein said measuring unit is configured to measure position and orientation of said etching head relative to said removable reference terminal, and wherein said control unit is configured to establish correspondence or lack of correspondence between said calculated coordinates of said etching point and coordinates of a point to be etched as a function of said predefined relationship that associates a point of said pattern with said removable reference terminal.