ETCHMET ALLOY FOR VOICE COIL MOTOR AND OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZATION SPRINGS 

In voice coil motor (VCM) and optical image stabilization (OIS) springs in smartphone cameras, the component requirements are constantly increasing as smartphone technology evolves. Materion engineered EtchMet^® alloy—our newest ultra-high strength foil gauge strip and wire alloy—to meet and adapt to the frequently changing requirements. 

Compared with commonly used copper titanium (CuTi) springs, EtchMet alloy offers many advantages for cell phone cameras, including increased life, high spring stiffness for shorter autofocus times, high durability that enables the spring to withstand impact loads without fracturing or permanently deforming and high fatigue strength that withstands repeated impact and actuation cycles. 

Download the EtchMet Alloy brochure to learn more about the benefits of this material in smartphone camera applications.

MANUFACTURING AND PROCESSING BENEFITS OF ETCHMET ALLOY

• A uniform, primarily single-phase microstructure, which photochemically machines easily and makes uniform edges free of stress risers
• A material supplied fully precipitation hardened, so no further heat treatment is required
• Minimal coil set that helps alignment during photochemical machining
• Ease of soldering and welding

ETCHMET WIRE ALLOY FOR SUSPENDED-LENS CAMERAS

In addition to EtchMet strip alloy, we created an EtchMet wire alloy solution to hold and control the VCM/OIS spring in cellphone cameras that have a suspended lens. With a uniform elastic modulus across all thicknesses and diameters and between all product forms, EtchMet wire provides consistent stiffness and damping behavior that makes spring calculations easier for design engineers.

Download the EtchMet Wire Data Sheet for more details. 

ETCHMET VERSUS COPPER TITANIUM ALLOYS

EtchMet strip alloy outperforms CuTi alloys in stiffness and strength. See the difference in the chart below.  

Request more information or a sample from our materials engineers and see how EtchMet alloy can improve your VCM and OIS applications.