I'm stumped, my etcher just won't etch anymore!

jonnymac44

jonnymac44

Joined
Sep 27, 2007
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I while back I picked up a Pesonalizer from Jantz, and ordered my stencils from TUS marking specialists based on Tom Kreins recommendations.

The first few times I etched there was a bit of a learning curve, but it was easy enough to get the hang of it, then I produced some pretty good etches. First I etched nice and deep, then switched to mark to get a good dark fill. I had my number of passes and hold times down okay and it was working fine.

The last three times I've tried to etch, using the same setup, solutions, hold times, etc. I just can't get the thing to mark or etch really at all. The machine has power, the fuse isn't blown, I'm doing everything the same but I just get no reaction from the metal. When all was good, the stencil would quickly darken up and you can hear a very faint sizzle as the metal etches. Now I hear nothing and can't see any darkening of the stencil. After going through all the steps, I check it out and there is no etch and the mark is just a few scattered bits of grey, no real deep black and parts of the logo are missing. I'm taping up the blade the same, cleaning it the same, etc. Any ideas?

Earlier today, I realized the blade I was trying to etch had just been hand sanded with windex as a lubricant so maybe there was some excess ammonia stopping the etch, so I tried another piece and got the same results, zero. Am I missing something?
 
Do you clean your stencil after etching a blade? A good clean stencil is necessary for a good clean etch.
 
Robert Dark said:
Do you clean your stencil after etching a blade? A good clean stencil is necessary for a good clean etch.
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Yes, I clean my stencils immediately after etching every time, dry it off gently and put it back in it's ziplock. I even tried a brand new one on one of these recent failed attempts to be sure it wasn't the stencil....
 
Clean all the contact points on both the negitive and positive sides, the etching will cause the connectors and even the wire to corrode after time. They will need to be replaced after a while but a good cleaning will help in the interm.
 
Rusty McDonald said:
Clean all the contact points on both the negitive and positive sides, the etching will cause the connectors and even the wire to corrode after time. They will need to be replaced after a while but a good cleaning will help in the interm.
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Good idea, are you talking about cleaning with say, rubbing alcohol or acetone, maybe Dawn detergent? Or you mean giving the contacts a good scrubbing with a scotchbrite pad or light sanding?
 
what are you using as an etching solution? That might be the issue if all the contacts are still good. Have you tested with a meter to be sure there's current flowing?
 
The Wire in my Etcher head came loose, It didn't etch until I pushed it all the way in and taped it in place.
 
I just did a quick test on a scrap bar of carbon steel. Sanded it down, laid down some electrical tape to just mask off a straight line. Put the pad directly to the steel, definitely current going through, got the sizzling and what not, but couldn't really get a mark at all. It would turn the spot black but the oxide wouldn't stick, it just wiped away with the pad. Hmmm, back to the drawing board.......
 
Unplug it - open it up and check all the connections inside. Sounds like you have a bad solder joint to me. Been there - done that.
 
Nope, all soldered connections look good and solid. I'm scratchin' my head, and now I'm not getting anything done today:(
 
jonnymac44 said:
Good idea, are you talking about cleaning with say, rubbing alcohol or acetone, maybe Dawn detergent? Or you mean giving the contacts a good scrubbing with a scotchbrite pad or light sanding?
Click to expand...


Both, clean it with a neutralizing agent first then scotch bright. acetone or denatured alcohol is good. I try to clean mine after every use then oil the parts with a light oil to help prevent corosion.

One question, do you have it pluged in the same outlet you were using before?
 
Rusty McDonald said:
Both, clean it with a neutralizing agent first then scotch bright. acetone or denatured alcohol is good. I try to clean mine after every use then oil the parts with a light oil to help prevent corosion.

One question, do you have it pluged in the same outlet you were using before?
Click to expand...

Yeah I thought about the outlet, and I've gotten great etches with it plugged into the same one as now:confused: I switched and tried another just to be sure. I think I've taped off this blade and tried different things about 15 times today! I think I'm just gonna leave it alone for the rest of the day, remembering what Salem said in his thread about not working angry....because I'm pretty frustrated. Eventually these blades are going to have to get marked.....I can't afford another etcher at the moment. Hell, this one should be fine, it's practically brand new!!!
 
sometimes the aligator clip that you attach to the knife as a ground has only a pressed on connection. Slide back the rubber sleeve and look at the connection, I usually solder it.

Frank
 
Are you useing a new steel for your blades? Some of them dont etch very well at all, D2 is one of them, it just takes longer to get a good etch.
 
No, These are ATS-34, which I've etched very well in the past with this very machine. I'll check the alligator clip. After that I'm giving up for today. I think my brain is more tired than my hands for once!!:D
 
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