Photo etching how too?

[PiperguyUMD]

Hello everyone!

I've been dabbling with Shapeways for a few years now and have a fairly refined lineup of models there that could be greatly improved with photo etched parts.  I know that there are a few services that will etch products for you if you have your own art work.  I would like to take advantage of these but I need some help.  I'm pretty tech savvy and I can pick up software relatively quickly.  So that begs the question: 

What software is available to create artwork for photo etching?  To throw a wrench in the works, I am a Mac user.

Are any of these software options inexpensive/free/shareware?

I have many ideas for parts and would be more than happy to make them available to the masses, I just need some pointers to get going.

Thanks for the help!

[Scottl]

I have use Inkscape for etching artwork and it is very well suited.  It is open-source and free, and I believe there is a Mac OS version too.

In terms of artwork, PM me and I can send you an example file to check out.

[Chris333]

I use autoCAD 




Good stuff here to help out:
http://www.hollywoodfoundry.com/HowToPapers.shtm

[GaryHinshaw]

DraftSight is also free, though I don't especially like its user interface.  I highly recommend PPD for etching services, though there are plenty of other options there as well.

I wonder if there is a shop that has a storefront for selling parts from user-supplied artwork, like Shapeways does for printing?

[wazzou]

I wonder if there is a shop that has a storefront for selling parts from user-supplied artwork, like Shapeways does for printing?

I think that would be awesome if that comes to fruition some day.

[peteski]

I use Corel Draw to design the photomasks for do-it-yourself etching, but it also appears that native Corel Draw file format is also widely accepted by commercial etchers, decal makers and laser cutters.  I do lots of other drawing (like making model signs, building interiors, etc.) in Corel.

[basementcalling]

DraftSight is also free, though I don't especially like its user interface.  I highly recommend PPD for etching services, though there are plenty of other options there as well.

I wonder if there is a shop that has a storefront for selling parts from user-supplied artwork, like Shapeways does for printing?

How much does shipping hurt coming from the UK? it looks like? 

[Chris333]

My latest invoice didn't break down shipping costs. I had enough parts etched to make 4 locomotives and it came to $106. If I had gone elsewhere they would have made me fill up a whole 12x24 sheet and it would have been around $300. The benefit of PPD is that they have no minimum.

[Lemosteam]

I use autoCAD 

First Chris, that box ab is beautiful..

So white=no etch
Red = 1/2 etch
Black= through etch
What is blue? 3/4 etch?  Is that how you get your perfectly smooth roof?

[Chris333]

John,  Scott's drawing is correct. The drawing should have 7 layers. One is just the outline. Then:
Full etch outline white
Full etch filled white
Front half etch outline red
Front half etch filled red
Back half etch outline blue
Back half etch filled blue

When they make the artwork (just like a photo negative) they toggle on the 3 "filled" layers.

Those blue lines are just etched on the back to help form the roof curve. Think I ended up using thin aluminium for the roof though. This was an old project.

[Chris333]

This is how I drew the rivets:


For this tank:


You can see the difference between a rivet and a hole.

BTW only the rear and not the sides of this tender are flared, so I just bent the rear.

[Scottl]

I've saved the layers into individual PDF files and that has worked as well.  I had to do etch a second sheet of railings and the cost was much reduced because it was already set up at PPD.  I don't remember cost, but close to $200 CDN for three letter-sized sheets of etching.  As Chris mentions, they have no minimum.

[PiperguyUMD]

Thanks for the suggestions!  I'm having trouble getting Inkscape to open.  I will move on to trying some of the other programs.

Do any of you use Sketchup?  Would it be possible to use Sketchup to make etching artwork?

Thanks!

[Lemosteam]

John,  Scott's drawing is correct. The drawing should have 7 layers. One is just the outline. Then:
Full etch outline white
Full etch filled white
Front half etch outline red
Front half etch filled red
Back half etch outline blue
Back half etch filled blue

When they make the artwork (just like a photo negative) they toggle on the 3 "filled" layers.

Those blue lines are just etched on the back to help form the roof curve. Think I ended up using thin aluminium for the roof though. This was an old project.

Oh, I see now.  Mainly I was curious what the blue represented

Do you have to use a cad tool that has layering capability or can you supply a drawing of the colors only?

Are there any rules of thumb for folds, for example the width of the fold line? 180 and 90 deg bends?

[Chris333]

With other programs it might be different for the layers. All I know is CAD so that's what I use. They want the outline layers separate so the line width isn't a problem. When I etched parts myself at home I drew all in one layer and I set the line width to 0.

As for fold lines I just use the width of the sheet. Like .012" wide line for .012" brass.

Lots of info here: http://www.hollywoodfoundry.com/HowToPapers.shtm