Xinketching is a precision photochemical etching manufacturer in Dongguan, China, producing flat etched parts in stainless steel, titanium, copper, brass and nickel, 0.05–2.5 mm thick, since 2005. Below are the questions buyers ask us most often. If yours is not here, send your drawing to sales@xinketching.com and ask directly.

The questions

1. What is photochemical etching?

A process that shapes thin metal with chemistry instead of force. Your design is printed photographically onto light-sensitive resist laminated to the metal sheet; exposed areas are dissolved away by etchant, leaving the part. Because nothing punches, cuts or heats the metal, parts come out burr-free, stress-free and flat.

2. What materials and thicknesses do you etch?

Stainless steel (304, 316L), titanium, copper, brass and nickel, in thicknesses from 0.05 to 2.5 mm. One clear exception: we do not etch aluminium. If your design specifies a different alloy, tell us at enquiry stage and we will confirm whether we can source and etch it — we will not substitute materials silently.

3. What is the smallest hole or slot you can etch?

Through-features should be at least roughly the thickness of the material — a design rule of thumb of ≈0.8–1.2× thickness. In 0.1 mm stock, holes and slots around 0.1 mm are realistic; in 1 mm stock they need to be around 1 mm. We check every feature against this rule when we quote and flag anything below it.

4. What tolerances can you hold?

Etching tolerances relate to material thickness and feature type. Our standard etch tolerance is ±10% of material thickness: ±0.01 mm at 0.1 mm, ±0.02 mm at 0.2 mm, ±0.03 mm at 0.3 mm, ±0.05 mm at 0.5 mm and ±0.10 mm at 1.0 mm. As a working principle: tell us which dimensions are critical on the drawing, and we will confirm in writing what we can hold on those dimensions before you place an order — we would rather qualify a tolerance than discover it together later.

5. What is your minimum order quantity?

Because there is no hard tooling, small quantities are economically realistic with etching — prototypes do not carry a die cost. There is no minimum order quantity; a minimum order charge of US$100 applies. Send the quantity you actually need, including if it is a handful of samples, and the quotation will reflect it.

6. How fast can we get prototypes?

A revised or new design only needs new artwork, not new tooling, so prototyping is measured in days rather than the weeks a die requires. Samples typically take 3–5 days, and production orders 7–10 days. Expedite options, if available, are confirmed per order.

7. What file formats do you need for artwork?

DXF or DWG of the flat part is ideal; PDF drawings are fine for quotation and review. Include material, thickness and quantity with the file. If you only have a sample part or a sketch, send what you have — we regularly build artwork from measured samples for replacement parts such as encoder discs.

8. Are etched parts really burr-free?

Yes — this is a property of the process, not a finishing step. Metal is dissolved, not sheared, so there is no raised burr on either face and no deburring operation is needed. It is why etched parts are specified where burrs would damage seals, membranes, insulation or sensor readings.

9. Can we move from prototypes to production without changing process?

Yes. The same digital tooling that makes your first articles runs production, so the parts you validate are the parts you receive in volume. Many customers later transfer a frozen, very-high-volume design to stamping — etching covers everything up to that point, and low-to-medium volumes indefinitely.

10. How do you handle our drawings and NDAs?

We are happy to sign your NDA before you send drawings — just attach it to your first enquiry, and we sign NDAs whenever a customer requests one. Drawings are used only for quoting and producing your parts and are not shared with third parties.

11. How is shipping handled from Dongguan?

Samples typically travel by international air express and production orders by air or sea freight, packed flat and protected against bending and surface damage. Our standard trade term is FOB. Confirm your delivery terms at quotation so freight is priced in from the start.

12. How do we get a quotation?

Email your drawing (DXF/DWG/PDF), material, thickness and quantity to sales@xinketching.com. We first run a manufacturability check — feature sizes against thickness, burr-sensitive faces, tolerance callouts — then return a quotation with any design notes. If a feature cannot be etched reliably, we will say so and suggest the change that makes it workable.

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