Micromolding Solutions (Canada)

Abstract The micro injection molding process is a rapidly growing area in plastics processing technology. In this process, the polymer is exposed to both high shear rates and large thermal gradients. In view of the versatility of the process, both commodity and engineering polymers have been used in micro injection molded products. In the present work, poly(oxymethylene) (POM), a partially crystalline engineering polymer, was employed to evaluate the relationships between processing conditions, on one hand, and the morphology and properties of the final part, on the other hand. An unsymmetrical mold cavity to make parts in the form of stepped plaques was used in the study. This resulted in substantial differences in morphology, crystallinity and shrinkage of the zones of different constant thicknesses in the micro parts. Depending on the molding conditions and the location on the micro-part, the microstructure can display up to five crystalline layers. Of particular interest, shish-kebab crystalline structures were observed within the skin of the step with the smallest thickness. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests are used to distinguish between the melting points of the shish and kebab components of this particular structure. The degree of crystallinity as determined by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and shrinkage across the thickness were also found to be highest in the step with the smallest thickness.

The development of MEMS and microsystems needs a reliable mass production process to fabricate micro components with micro/nano-scale features. In our study, we used the micro injection molding process to replicate micro/nano-scale channels and ridges from a bulk metallic glass (BMG) cavity insert. High-density polyethylene was used as the molding material and the design of experiment approach was adopted to systematically and statistically investigate the relationship between machine parameters, real process conditions and replication quality. The peak cavity pressure and temperature were selected as process characteristic values to describe the real process conditions that the material experienced during the filling process. The experiments revealed that the replication of ridges, including feature edge, profile and filling height, was sensitive to the flow direction; cavity pressure and temperature both increased with holding pressure and mold temperature; replication quality can be improved by increasing cavity pressure and temperature within a certain range. The replication quality of micro/nano features is tightly related to the thermomechanical history of material experienced during the molding process. In addition, the longevity and roughness of the BMG insert were also evaluated based on the number of injection molding cycles.