JPH0338344B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to etching of metal, particularly to an etching method for simultaneously forming a pattern by half etching and punching.

In conventional etching, not only the punched parts but also the design are drawn with solid lines on the surface of the metal plate, so when half-etching is used to form the design and punch out at the same time, single-sided etching is not half-etching as shown in Figure 1. It all ends up being punched out. In addition, in double-sided etching in which punched parts are formed from both the front and back sides of a metal plate, when a pattern is formed by punching and half-etching on either the front or back side as shown in Figure 2, the design is formed by punching alone as shown in Figure 3. In the case of punching and pattern formation, the fourth
As shown in the figure, three methods are possible: punching and half-etching on both sides so that the designs do not overlap on the front and back sides. However, when punching and pattern formation are performed at the same time in double-sided etching, the overlapping parts of the designs on the front and back sides pass through, and only the design seen from one side is well recognized, while the design on the other side is becomes extremely poor quality.
In order to avoid this, it is necessary to prevent the designs on the front and back sides from overlapping, which severely limits the designs that can be produced.

In view of these drawbacks of the conventional techniques, the present invention provides a technique for simultaneously forming and punching a design on the surface of a metal plate using half-etching in single-sided etching, and simultaneously forming and punching a good design on both sides of the metal plate in double-sided etching. The purpose is to

That is, in the present invention, when creating a photomask,
By placing a fine mesh between the photosensitive film and the lens or between the lens and the original pattern on the part of the design to be formed by half etching, the part of the design to be formed by half etching is smaller than the punched part. By creating a photomask formed of many dots or lines, aligning the photomask with a metal plate coated with photoresist in advance, exposing it to light, and developing it, a pattern is created with many dots or lines on the metal plate. is drawn and etched using the method described above by varying the size of the point or line in the punched part and half-etched part, and by using the difference in etching speed depending on the etching area, a good pattern is formed by half-etching and punched out at the same time. It is something.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Figure 5 shows the pattern forming area by half etching, which is drawn on both the front and back sides of the metal plate at the same time as the punching area C by double-sided etching using the conventional method of drawing a pattern forming area with a dot larger than the punching area or a line with a thickness larger than the punching area. It is a sectional view when designs A and B are formed. In the conventional method, the etching speed of the half-etched part and the punched part is almost the same in areas where the designs overlap on the front and back sides, except for minute parts of the design, so the etching speeds are almost the same, so the etching is visually different from half-etching on both the front and back sides. It becomes a different design. Therefore, in the present invention, even when a design is formed on the entire front and back sides of a metal plate, if the positions of the designs overlap on the front and back, and furthermore, that part is not intended for punching, both the front and back of the overlapping part Alternatively, by drawing one of the designs with dots or lines, it is possible to form a good design that is independent on the front and back sides even after etching.

6, 7, and 8 are cross-sectional views of an etched metal plate showing an embodiment of the present invention in which a part forming a design is created by half etching with a large number of dots or lines smaller than the punched part. be.
In the present invention, since the design other than the punched part is drawn using dots or lines, in single-sided etching, the difference in etching speed depending on the size of the dots or lines as shown in FIG. Formation of the design on the surface and formation of the punched portion C can be performed at the same time. At the initial stage of etching, there is not much difference in the etching speed depending on the size of the lines or dots that form the design, but as etching progresses, the smaller the size of the lines or dots, the more the etching solution increases in the grooves being etched. This is because the exchange rate is lowered and the etching rate is slower than when the lines or dots are large in size. In addition, even in the case of double-sided etching, by drawing the design with dots or lines smaller than the punched part, even if there is a part where the design overlaps on the front and back of the metal plate as shown in Figure 7, it will not penetrate through. Since designs A and B are formed independently on each side, they are visually pleasing, and there are almost no restrictions on the selection of designs on both sides. Figure 8 is an example of double-sided etching similar to Figure 7, but in the area where the designs overlap on the front and back sides, the points or lines that make up each design on the front and back sides are made so that they do not overlap at the positions on the front and back sides. be. This method can reduce the risk of penetration due to overetching, especially when the plate thickness is thin.

The width of the points, diameters, and lines constituting the design is preferably one-half or less of the board thickness, but the finer the shape, the better the shape of the design will be recognized. Furthermore, the etching method of the present invention is applicable not only to metals but also to non-metals such as glass and plastics as long as they can be etched.

As described in detail above, the etching method of the present invention makes it possible to perform pattern formation and punching at the same time, and allows for the creation of designs on either one or both sides, compared to conventional etching methods, using only a normal etching process. It is possible to achieve the formation of

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 are cross-sectional views of metal plates processed by conventional etching methods. 6 to 8 are cross-sectional views of metal plates processed by the etching method of the present invention. 1...Metal plate, 2...Photoresist, 3...
Points or lines that make up the design, A...Design A, B...
...Design B, C...Punching part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. When creating a photomask, the part where the design will be formed is created by half-etching using a large number of dots or lines smaller than the punched part, and the photomask is aligned with a metal plate that has been coated with photoresist in advance. By exposing and developing, a design is drawn with many dots or lines on a metal plate, and the above-mentioned method is used to etch the dots or lines in the punched portion and half-etched portion with different sizes, thereby creating a half-etched design. An etching method characterized by performing forming and punching at the same time. 2. The etching method according to claim 1, wherein the etching is one-sided etching. 3. The etching method according to claim 1, wherein the etching is double-sided etching.