Xinketching is a precision photochemical etching manufacturer in Dongguan, China, supplying flat etched metal parts to automotive OEMs and Tier suppliers since 2005. We etch sensor components, fuel-system parts, metal gaskets, shielding covers and automotive speaker grilles in stainless steel, titanium, copper, brass and nickel from 0.05 to 2.5 mm thick — burr-free, stress-free and flat, with no hard tooling, so part designs can change between model years without new dies.

Specifications

  • Materials: stainless steel (304, 316L), titanium, copper, brass and nickel
  • Thickness range: 0.05–2.5 mm
  • Minimum through-feature: holes and slots at least roughly the material thickness (design rule ≈ 0.8–1.2× thickness)
  • Edge and surface condition: burr-free edges that will not damage seals, insulation or mating parts; no heat-affected zone; parts remain flat
  • Dimensional tolerance: ±10% of material thickness (e.g. ±0.02 mm on 0.2 mm stock, ±0.05 mm on 0.5 mm stock)
  • Quality documentation: material test certificates (MTC) are available, IMDS material data sheets can be provided, and every production run carries the material’s batch/lot number for traceability; PPAP Level 3 submissions are supported
  • Finishes and secondary operations: passivation is done in-house; plating is arranged through qualified partner finishers, and forming (including shaped grille shells) is done via our partner network

Typical parts & applications

  • Sensor discs, encoder wheels and tone wheels for position and speed sensing
  • Fuel-system filter discs, strainer screens and injector orifice plates
  • Thin metal gaskets and sealing shims for pumps, compressors and gearboxes
  • Automotive speaker grilles and mesh covers (etched, including formed shells)
  • ECU and power-electronics shielding covers
  • Battery-pack sensing plates and current-collector parts for EV programmes
  • ADAS sensor brackets, masks and aperture plates

Why etching for this part

No die to re-cut at every design change. Automotive parts revise constantly — a hole pattern moves, a grille pattern is restyled, a sensor disc gains slots. Etching works from digital artwork, so a revision is a file change measured in days, not a tooling order measured in months and five figures.

Burr-free where burrs cause failures. A stamping burr on a fuel filter disc or gasket face becomes a leak path or debris in the system. Etched edges have no raised burr, which removes a deburring operation and a whole class of warranty risk.

Flat parts that seal and stack correctly. Etching introduces no mechanical stress and no heat distortion. Thin gaskets, shims and covers come off the sheet flat and stay flat in the assembly.

Complexity costs nothing extra. A speaker grille with 2,000 holes costs the same to etch as one with 200, because the pattern is photographic. Dense sensor-disc slot patterns and fine filter meshes are the same artwork step as simple shapes.

When etching is not the best fit

Deep-drawn, heavily formed or structural parts — brackets with 3D geometry, housings, anything well above 2.5 mm — belong to stamping, casting or machining. Etching supplies the flat, thin, precision layer of the vehicle. One material limit applies across our range: we do not etch aluminium.

FAQ

Can you supply the volumes automotive programmes need?

Etching scales from prototype batches to production volumes on the same digital tooling, and multi-up panel layouts keep unit cost down at volume. Monthly output runs to several million etched parts, with material throughput up to 300 tonnes per month. Tell us your annual volume and we will quote the panel layout accordingly.

Why do speaker grilles get etched instead of punched?

Punching a fine grille pattern needs an expensive cluster die and still leaves burrs on the show face. Etching produces the full pattern in one step, burr-free on both faces, and a restyle for a new model year is new artwork only.

Are etched sensor discs accurate enough for position sensing?

Slot position is defined photographically from your CAD data, so disc-to-disc repeatability is high and identical across a production run. The practical limit is feature size: slots should be at least about the material thickness (≈0.8–1.2×). We check every design against this rule at quotation.

Can you support PPAP and material traceability?

Yes — material test certificates (MTC) are available, IMDS material data sheets can be provided, and every production run is identified by the material’s batch/lot number, so parts are traceable back to their material lot, and PPAP Level 3 submissions are supported. Material grade and thickness should be stated on your drawing so the quotation matches your validation requirements.

How do we start a new part?

Send the drawing or DXF, material, thickness and estimated quantity to the address below. We review manufacturability first — feature sizes against thickness, burr-sensitive faces, flatness needs — and come back with a quotation and any design notes.

CTA: Send your drawing to sales@xinketching.com — Xinketching, Dongguan · since 2005 · xinketching.com