Fotofab announced this week that it has acquired a new Chime Ball Technologies direct-imaging (DI) machine from Technica, USA to optimize its chemical etching process and provide a more advanced level of precision and speed for thin metal parts.

The DI machine has CBT’s patented finger-print technology with LED lighting that enables Fotofab to directly plot the image onto the photoresist with front-to-back registration accuracy. It eliminates the cost and time required to develop a phototool and substantially increases the speed and accuracy of the side-to-side alignment process, according to Chicago-based Fotofab. It also enables Fotofab to achieve a higher level of precision and tighter tolerances for complex parts with intricate features.

“It allows us to produce parts with smaller features and tighter tolerances quicker and more consistently,” said Fotofab president Charles Cohen in a news release. “These attributes put us in a stronger position to meet and surpass or customers’ requirements.”