Contact Us 1-800- 243-6288 (USA) 814-272-2800 (Non-USA) HOME WET PROCESSING EQUIPMENT INDUSTRIES SERVICE & PARTS COMPANY CONTACT US BLOG Flat Panel Displays Chemcut > Industries Served > Flat Panel Display Conveyorized Chemical Glass Etching and Cleaning Equipment How to etch glass? Glass etching (silicon etching, Si etching) can be completed chemically, mechanically, or with a laser. Chemcut specializes in building chemical glass etching machines. Chemical etching can result in a clear, see-through surface or a frosted, matte finish. Etching glass for a see-through surface would be completed using HF plus another acid. If you need to remove some material but keep the optical properties, then chemical etching is a great solution for glass thinning. Creating decorative glass through chemical engraving is a fast and cost-effective solution. You can utilize a glass frosting solution to engrave the pattern into the surface for a matte finish or an HF etching solution to engrave grooves. There are many glass etching chemical formulas. The most common glass etching solutions we see are: HF and Nitric acid (Glass Etcher) HF and sulfuric acid (Glass Etcher) HF and Ammonium Fluoride (Glass Frosting) Ammonium Bifluoride (Glass Frosting) Pros of Chemical Glass Etching Etching to Strengthen: Increasing the strength of glass via etching is due to the removal of the external layer which is weakened by defects. Micro cracks will be removed or “rounded out” which significantly lowers crack propagation. Little to no micro-cracks which is a common issue in mechanical and laser etching. No chipping along the etched surface and non-etched surface. Unlimited complexity. All features are etched at the same time so there is no added machining cost to more complex parts. Fast Machining Process. Glass etching is slow relative to metal etching but is fast relative to laser and mechanical machining. Laser and mechanical machining can only make 1 part at a time, so it is much slower than chemical etching. No Expensive Hard Tooling Fast Prototyping and Quick Design Changes since the tooling process is digital. Cons to Etching Glass Chemically Chemistry is dangerous. If using HF, the chemistry is very dangerous and needs to be handled with extreme care. Equipment Cost is more expensive than mechanical machining tools but will be similar in price (depending on what you want) to a laser. Glass Projects Chemcut has Built Wet Processing Equipment for Glass Cleaning Machine Chemical Glass Cleaner Mechanical Glass Cleaner Glass Etcher HF Etcher Glass Thinning Glass Frosting Machine Glass Photoresist developer Glass Photoresist Stripper View Commonly Used Wet Processing Machines for Glass and Flat Panel Display Manufacturing Why choose Chemcut to build your glass wet processing machine for etching glass or cleaning glass? Chemcut’s process engineers have over 100 years of combined etching experience. Whether you are etching rigid or flexible materials, Chemcut will find a way to make your glass wet process a flying success. We are willing to customize our glass processing machines to your every need. Chemcut has manufactured equipment for specialized glass processing. Today, our wet processing equipment is ideal for a variety of glass manufacturing projects like Flat Panel Display (FPD), cell phone glass, large frosted windows, small frosted parts, or solar panel silicon cleaning or etching. Our glass etching, frosting, or cleaning machines will meet your manufacturing needs. The flexibility of our XLi, CC8000, and 2300 Series allows equipment for glass products to be built with a wide range of process steps, dwell times, and rinsing configurations. Compared to heavy steel components, Chemcut’s lightweight conveyor construction reduces the possibility of damage to thin glass substrates. Standard conveyor configurations can accommodate piece sizes from 5 – 60 inches wide and 6 – 80+ inches long. The broad chemical compatibility of Chemcut’s equipment provides long life, a wide choice of process chemistry, and excellent return-on-investment. Contact us today so we can discuss your glass engraving, glass cleaning project to determine what chemicals will best optimize your glass manufacturing line. Once we determine the best wet processing chemistry, we will start our lab testing phase. For the testing phase, we will need you to supply us with a panel that is laminated, exposed, and developed or just the glass for cleaning. We can test unusual chemistries (organic solvents for example) for material compatibility prior to system build to verify the process will work, and that materials selected for construction are durable and robust. Our process engineers will prove our etchers can attain your goals and we will help you optimize all your wet processing steps. In the end, the optimization really comes down to you testing your new wet processing equipment and finding what best works for you, but we will be here the whole time to help you through every step. Ultimately the main reasons our customers love working with us are: We are here to serve you. Our pre and post-sales support is second to none and prides itself on our customer’s success. Our expert service team will ship parts overnight if needed. Most parts are shipped within 24 hours of purchase. Where our competitors will have you waiting weeks if not months for parts. Etching Performance. Our etchers provide companies with the most uniform and accurate etched surface on the market today. Durability. Our wet processing machines are built to last using USA sourced material that is the best in the world. We have hundreds if not thousands of etchers, developers, and strippers that are well over 30 years old still providing high quality etched components. Vertically Integrated. We make over 90% of our parts so we do not rely on anyone else to make parts for us. This gives us complete control over quality the ability to make parts in order to support installed systems that are over 30 years old. We never have to worry about a supplier discontinuing a part and if a part is not in stock, we can start building it immediately. Completely customized wet processing machines. You can buy a standard etcher, or you can customize every single detail. Research and Developing Lab Testing. Our research and development lab will prove to you that our machines can etch the components you want and can help you optimize your glass engraving machine. Scale Up. Consultation with Chemcut design and process engineers will help you scale up from prototype design to full-scale continuous production. 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