Electrochemical etching with TIG

I don't see why it wouldn't work if you could dial the amps and voltage low enough and made a marking electrode pad (what ever it's called)
 
Well that's the trick. "Micro" tig is what, still around 5 amps?

I think it would just fry your stencil.

Im using a digital power supply at 14v and .15a
 
Do you think the current would be a big deal? I am assuming at 5-10 amps, the blade won't end up getting hot that quickly unless very thin. I was more worried about the voltage being too low/high. Since you cant set the voltage of a tig power supply, it varries with resistance to get you your constant current. For welding purposes it is generally 12-20 apms depending on arc length, but I've no idea what it would be when grounded through an electrode. Maybe I will just give it a try and see what happens.
 
I would say, NO.
It will have too high amperage. 1 amp at 24 volts will fry a stencil if not done right.
 
As I've stated before, the amount of current the supply is rated at has NO bearing on how much current will be used during etching. The amount of current used depends solely on the voltage, amount of open space in the stencil, and solution used for etching. I have a 10 amp supply, but well less than 1 amp is actually drawn during etch at around 18 vdc.
 
Ken, that is not how TIG works. The TIG machine will adjust the voltage based on resistance to mantain a relatively constant current. I get the resistance of the electrolyte is probably pretty high, my worry is that the TIG machine will compensate by boosting the voltage up into the 80V range (the open current voltage (OCV) on most TIG machines), which may well be enough to overcome the resistance of the stencil. Or it may work perfectly, who knows.
 
Ooops. I should have been more clear - I wasn't referring to a TIG machine (I don't know much about them, I'm a stick welder), only to power supplies in general used for etching. I've read/heard folks say using a higher current power supply won't work. This does NOT include the constant current type power supplies that will increase voltage trying to keep current to a set value.
 
Joe is pointing out why I said NO. TIG delivers amperage. You set it at X amps and it delivers that, using whatever voltage it needs to get it there. Even the lowest setting is far too high for etching. It would boil off the electrolyte and burn the stencil.
 
Most entry level "DC Inverter" ARC welding machines also have a "Lift TIG" function rather than being scratch start. If it was going to work I'd try setting the leads in reverse polarity, by doing that the heat will be on the stencil/electrode side, but because I'm not sure what the stencils are made from I can't guarantee it will work Good luck though!
 
Obviously, you haven't etched a makers mark.

The stencil would be destroyed as well as the etch wouldn't work with reversed polarity from a TIG. It is the direction of electron flow that makes the etch into the blade.
 
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