Plating, Anodizing & Surface Treatment worked example

Acid Etch Rate at 99% target acid-etch conformance: a worked example

Push target acid-etch conformance up to 99% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when acid etch rate in plating, anodizing and surface treatment needs a clean rate and gap-to-target you can put on a tier board.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Parts showing out-of-spec acid etch: 8 count (unchanged)
  • Total parts inspected in the lot: 250 count (unchanged)
  • Target acid-etch conformance: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 95)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Acid etch rate = acid etch rate count ÷ total acid etch rate population × 100) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3.2 % for acid etch rate, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 95.8 points for acid etch rate gap to target.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8 count for acid etch rate count.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 250 count for total acid etch rate population.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target acid-etch conformance sits at 95% and the headline result is 3.2 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 3.2 %.
  • It computes the percentage of inspected parts affected by an acid-etch condition and the point gap to a target. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Acid etch rate: 3.2 % (headline result)
  • Acid etch rate gap to target: 95.8 points
  • Acid etch rate count: 8 count
  • Total acid etch rate population: 250 count

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Acid Etch Rate calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.