These experiments have common genesis in a simple thought - how can I get a deep etch whose detail stands up throughout? If I could reliably use a CNC machine or hand engrave this might be an easier thing to accomplish. Both of those designs require either a ton of time, money, or both. Etching is a far more manageable endeavor by comparison and allows one to focus on another aspect (in my case - enameling). However, I never end up really happy with the etching process. It seems to be super finicky and always has a way of surprising me no matter how many variables I try to tune. As I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I do the same thing with brewing. Why am I like this? Since the etching process is so variable, it exacerbates the enameling process like a transistor amplifier (like, etching causes large chaotic changes in enameling). I'd like to learn the interactions between colors and temperature a lot more often, but I often feel like I'm already fighting with the design that isn't ideal to focus on practicing various things with the actual enameling. Therefore, experimentation. Right now, as of April 2024, I am experimenting with vinyl cut with a Cricut Maker 3. It seems to hold up really well under the electric etch. I need to adjust my setup and see if I can get something more repeatable. Though I think vinyl resist with ferric chloride might work well. ## Press N Peel ![[enamel37.jpg]] ![[enamel39.jpeg]] [Press N Peel](https://www.techniks.com/) has long been the gold standard resist for deep etching copper. It is super accessible, reasonably cheap (I purchased a 100 sheet stack and have only gone through a fraction of it, since 2018), and really easy to print on and apply to metal. However, I have had some problems with it. Enough problems that I never feel comfortable with a final product. Enameling is finicky in its own way, but poor resist is just so frustrating. I think using the Brother printers works reasonably well these days. ## Laser Engraver My thinking was that I could use a laser to ablate resist on a disk to get better detail for the etch. Further, I thought I could experiment with different resists to ease testing. Neither of these worked as well as I'd hoped. For what it's worth, I attempted this over several days and returned the laser shortly after, so it's likely that there are many other ways I could have improved my experience. However, the laser is expensive and I felt it'd require a ton of work, and since I'd be using this for only one purpose, it felt ridiculous. Vinyl cutter, ultimately, has much more versatility for me. Anyway, I had an awful time with the laser engraver. I used a 10W TwoTrees TS3 diode laser. Based on my research from the internet on Glowforge and other laser engraver forums it seemed this should work fine for ablating resist. It was not. I attempted this experiment on two materials: - Black enamel spray paint, matte - Caplugs powder coating masking tape (safe up to 400 F) At first, setting the laser to the manual's recommended height for engraving was almost unusable. It didn't have any penetrating power. It tickled the tape and simply molested the paint. I set the laser to the lowest distance indicated on the spacer and achieved a much better cut. Honestly, I feel like maybe if I lowered the laser significantly I might have had better ablative power. There's definitely more I could have done, but as mentioned, it just felt like I wouldn't get the results I desired for the cost (monetarily and otherwise) of operating the machine. If I had something as powerful as a Glowforge I might've had an easier time. Oh well. ## Vinyl Cutter It works pretty well. ![[438083446_901824795033482_754864768238966499_n.jpg]] The Cricut Maker 3 can put with some pretty fine detail, and it holds up well in the etchant. ![[430349245_7672967826068554_2592378435014946117_n.jpg]]