scholarly journals Development of Process Chain for Micro-Injection Molding

Procedia CIRP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 95 ◽  
pp. 584-589
Author(s):  
H. Büttner ◽  
U. Maradia ◽  
M. Suarez ◽  
J. Stirnimann ◽  
K. Wegener
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Process Chain ◽  
Micro Injection Molding

Design and Experimental Validation of a Process Chain for Thin Components Manufacturing by Micro Injection Molding Process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Bellantone ◽  
Fulvio Lavecchia ◽  
Rossella Surace ◽  
Onofrio Spadavecchia ◽  
Francesco Modica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Micro Milling ◽  
Surface Finishing ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Manufacturing Cost ◽  
Process Chain ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Micro Injection Molding ◽  
Micro Features

Abstract Micro applications, especially in biomedical and optical sectors, require the fabrication of thin polymeric parts which can be commonly realized by micro injection molding process. However, this process is characterized by a relevant constraint regarding the tooling. Indeed, the design and manufacturing of molds could be a very time-consuming step and so, a significant limitation for the rapid development of new products. Moreover, if the design displays challenging micro-features, their realization could involve the use of more than one mold for the fabrication of a single thin part. Therefore, a proper integration of different manufacturing micro technologies may represent an advantageous method to realise such polymeric thin micro features. In this work, a micro-manufacturing process chain including stereolithography, micro milling and micro injection molding is reported. The mold for the micro injection molding process was fabricated by means of stereolithography and micro milling, which allowed to produce low-cost reconfigurable modular mold, composed by an insert support and a removable insert. The assessment of the proposed process chain was carried out by evaluating the dimensions and the surface finishing and texturing of the milled mold cavities and molded components. Finally, a brief economic analysis compares three process chains for fabricating the micro mold showing that proposed one reduces manufacturing cost of almost 61% with the same production time.

scholarly journals Vacuum Venting Enhances the Replication of Nano/Microfeatures in Micro-Injection Molding Process

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong Ying Choi ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
J. P. Toner ◽  
G. Dunne ◽  
Michael D. Gilchrist
Keyword(s):  
Injection Molding ◽  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Vacuum Pressure ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Anodized Aluminum ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Micro Injection Molding ◽  
Sample Shape ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Study

Vacuum venting is a method proposed to improve feature replication in microparts that are fabricated using micro-injection molding (MIM). A qualitative and quantitative study has been carried out to investigate the effect of vacuum venting on the nano/microfeature replication in MIM. Anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) containing nanofeatures and a bulk metallic glass (BMG) tool mold containing microfeatures were used as mold inserts. The effect of vacuum pressure at constant vacuum time, and of vacuum time at constant vacuum pressure on the replication of these features is investigated. It is found that vacuum venting qualitatively enhances the nanoscale feature definition as well as increases the area of feature replication. In the quantitative study, higher aspect ratio (AR) features can be replicated more effectively using vacuum venting. Increasing both vacuum pressure and vacuum time are found to improve the depth of replication, with the vacuum pressure having more influence. Feature orientation and final sample shape could affect the absolute depth of replication of a particular feature within the sample.

Study on Optical Properties of Microstructure of Lightguiding Plate for Micro Injection Molding and Micro Injection-Compression Molding

2006 ◽  
Vol 505-507 ◽  
pp. 229-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung Kang Shen ◽  
H.J. Chang ◽  
C.T. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Injection Molding ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Mold Temperature ◽  
Compression Molding ◽  
Micro Injection Molding ◽  
Melt Temperature ◽  
Packing Pressure ◽  
Injection Compression Molding ◽  
Better Than

The purpose of this paper presents the optical properties of microstructure of lightguiding plate for micro injection molding (MIM) and micro injection-compression molding (MICM). The lightguiding plate is applied on LCD of two inch of digital camera. Its radius of microstructure is from 100μm to 300μm by linearity expansion. The material of lightguiding plate uses the PMMA plastic. This paper uses the luminance distribution to make a comparison between MIM and MICM for the optical properties of lightguiding plate. The important parameters of process for optical properties are the mold temperature, melt temperature and packing pressure in micro injection molding. The important parameters of process for optical properties are the compression distance, mold temperature and compression speed in micro injection-compression molding. The process of micro injection-compression molding is better than micro injection molding for optical properties.

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