I seen a quick look at the way there made , and was just looking to find out ? how long do they last they seem very thin and flimsy’ looks like tissue paper
I hope things get better and we can print these great details at home one day soon
how do you like your etched brass?
K
I dont have any Etched brass but, I do have some etched stainless parts that came with a dunmore caboose kit. They seem to hold up pretty good. I am interested in learning how to do this process and probably will look into it in the spring when I can work with it outside.
Dan
thanks pike
your the only one to give me some feedback
and to the others
My head hurts just trying to make head and tails of what you are asking. Budliner, sometimes when you bring up a subject like this with an ambigious question, people on these forums tend to just pass on replying. Perhaps if you clarify your ideas you might get more replies.
Anyways…here is my take on etched brass (or any other metal for that matter). Difficult and dangerous (because of the caustic liquids) to make but the results are second to none. Amazing intericate detail can be achieved with this method.
In terms of how long they will last…with a coat of clear laquer they will last forever.
David B
All the feedback I can give you is “HUH???” since I don’t have the slightest idea what you are talking about.
What is made??? and what are you trying to find out???
you know, how it is made, as in the manufacturing processes
I just cant see this paper thin part lasting to long
but the detail is great
hence the question
what do you think of them (them as in the Photo-etched Brass parts)
thats ambiguous
modeling has been revolutionized by the advent of photoetched brass parts. These are small and highly detailed, intended to replace many of the smaller plastic parts from a kit. Because there is a limitation to how finely parts can be cast in styrene plastic, very fine parts such as found on grills, ladders, railings, chairs, and benches can’t be reproduced with any detail or scale accuracy. Compare the difference
That last post you wrote was the best I’ve ever seen you write budliner…
can the rest of them be like that from now on? please?
anyway, I’ve only used photo etched parts once, and I think they’re much better (and stronger) than one would think, though I didn’t test out just HOW strong/resilient the parts were.
I’ve recently been looking into this myself. I quick search on the web for “hobby photoetching” gives you a few good sites to look at.
http://www.steelnavy.com/etching.htm
http://www.prototrains.com/etch1/etch1.html
Photo-etching can be done at home with little special equipment required, but the acid that does the etching may require some special disposal. The part that appears the toughest to the average user will be creating accurate photo artwork. However, any inexpensive CAD program should be able to help with that issue.
nice
great links
as to the second part of my strange question
making parts at home
Imagine that your coffee maker breaks just before you’re about to host a brunch. You go online and click on the model you want to buy. But you don’t have to wait for it to be shipped; instead, a machine on your desk kicks into operation. Inside a glass chamber, a nozzle spits out the electronics, chassis, motor and other components, layer by layer. An hour later, you snap together a few parts and the brewing begins.
That machine would be the “Star Trek” replicator realized. Well, a beta version anyway. Already, several engineering threads are converging that may pull the replicator out of the far future and put it in our homes, or at least at Kinko’s, in the next few decades. MIT’s Neil Gershenfeld, director of the Center for Bits and Atoms, dubs the vision “personal fabrication.” John Canny, a professor at UC-Berkeley’s College of Engineering, refers to the research field as “flexonics.” Whatever the buzzword, it’s not unlike desktop publishing, but for products instead of paper. Call it desktop manufacturing.
Small intricate gingerbready type stuff is primarily where it is used becasue it saves a tremendous amount of effort to construct and looks better. Don’t under estimate the strength of say a signal bridge after it is constructed with etched brass components. Will it take the force of oversized components to damage it? No. Will it hold up? Yes.
Budliner,
I use photo-etched details all the time. They’ve lasted as long as I’ve had them. In particluar, I used Gold Metal Models and Alkem Scale Models photo-etched parts in N scale. They’re tiny and not easy to work with unless you have a steady hand and an Opti-visor (I’m fortunate to have both).
Some examples of etched brass from my work are below.
The antenna mounts and induction coils on these N scale cabin cars:
The number plate on this kitbashed N scale PRR H10sb:
I guess what confuses me is your perception that these items have a finite lifespan. Brass corrodes, but not quickly; you would not expect these parts to corrode such that they would have even a minute change in size even in your lifetime. Add a coat of paint and they’re even more protected.
Brass is a great, stable metal. That’s why even shipwrecks that have been under water for a few hundred years typically have all their brass parts intact.
In H0 there also Detail Associates and Precison Scale the offer some etched parts. The need to actually etch your own parts is pretty rare today with everything that is now commercially available. As a long time custom model builder, I used to do some photo etching, but I think the last time I did that was back in the mid '80s.
The last time I checked Radio Shack still had a photo etching kit, (it’s the same process used to etch circuit boards).
As for the art work, it’s best to do it at 2x to 5x the actual size and then reduce it to get nice sharp lines and edges.
dave them N scale cabin cars are awsome
I see you took some time with them
I like that signel too
K