Modern solid modeling systems offer very direct paths for outputting data files for laser cutting (and its cousins: water jet and plasma), Wire EDM and even die design for both progressive and single strike die-stamping.  But for sheet metal fabricating’s “best-kept secret,” CAD consideration for photo chemical machining (PCM) is an afterthought.

PCM, though, offers capabilities and advantages over other processes, if only more engineers and designers knew about them:

• Processing very thin foils down to .001, even in dead soft aluminum.
• Metal filtration, grids, screens, apertures (lots of holes), with openings as small as .005”
• No mechanical or thermal deformations, such as cold working, burrs, heat affected zones or recast layers.

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