Saturday, April 25, 2026
RepRapMicron Etching Its Own Probe, Test 2
I've etched another bit if 316 Stainless wire (note to self, needs to be a 70mm length) with an immersion depth of 15mm. I meant to etch in NaCl, but used the hypochlorite pot by mistake. The tip looks like this immediately after etching:
That was only etched for 45s. That's gone in a Probe Arm, with the tip bent to enter the etching well on the Stage at more or less 90 degrees. Etching in the well with NaCL produced a result that was not at all what I had expected. The tip was irregularly corroded:
I don't know if this is a side-effect of etching with hypochlorite, the annular nature of the electrode in the etching well or what. Two -pronged attack: I'll try etching that same wire manually in the big cell, and I'll put a piece of plain, unadulterated wire in a probe holder and etch that.
Oh, but first I have to make repairs on the Z axis. I'll replace the old flexure coupling with the newer strengthened design. I tried to close the Z Axis on the microscope clamp, it made cracking noises, and now wobbles (which it didn't do in the video in the previous post). Oops.
