Dimensional variation in production of high-aspect-ratio micro-pillars array by micro powder injection molding

Micro powder injection molding (μPIM) is one of the potential processes for the mass production of metallic microstructures and micro components. Here, μPIM is the miniaturization of conventional PIM, which involves four processing steps: mixing, injection molding, debinding and sintering. This paper looks into the feasibility and effectiveness of μPIM as a key mass production process for the fabrication of metallic micro components. For it to be an effective re-production process, it is imperative to examine how well parts can be duplicated/fabricated from a master mold. In this work, the dimensional variation of high-aspect-ratio micro-pillars arrays, in particular the dimensional shrinkage, global warpage, and surface roughness at each stage of the μPIM process for a range of molding pressures, are quantified and compared in detail. The sensitivity of the dimensional variation of the microstructures to the packing pressure is reported. The mechanism behind the dimensional variation is analyzed. PACS 81.20.Ev; 81.20.Hy; 81.70.Fy; 07.60.Ly; 81.05.-t     

CAE在塑料光学零件注射成型中的应用

目前光学塑料非球面零件在各种光电仪器中的应用越来越普遍。针对在注射成型光学塑料零件时对质量的特殊要求,本文介绍了利用注射成型ＣＡＥ（ｃｏｍｐｕｔｅｒ ａｉｄｅｄｅｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ）软件Ｍｏｌｄｆｌｏｗ,通过对塑料填充过程、保压过程和冷却过程的模拟分析,对在成型中各工艺参数和模具结构影响光学塑料零件的残余应力和收缩率等最终质量问题进行了研究。从工艺参数的选取和模具结构设计等方面,提出了如何改善成型光学塑料零件质量的措施,给出了模具面形成型前补偿的方法。通过采用最大实体原则,利用Ｍｏｌｄｆｌｏｗ分析结果进行模具面形补偿最优化计算。     

自由曲面光学透镜注射成型误差因素研究

自由曲面光学透镜注射成型误差对其光学性能将产生直接影响。注射成型过程中，注射工艺参数组合的优劣，直接影响成型误差的大小。为了获得高精密度的光学元件，就热塑性塑料的注射温度、模具温度、注射压力、保压压力及保压时间等主要工艺参数，对注射成型误差的影响进行综合研究,并且进行了实验验证。研究结果表明：适当提高注射温度与模具温度，同时采用高压注射、高压保压以及快速保压工艺，可显著降低注塑工件的体积收缩率，显著提高面形精密度，其光学表面面形误差小于0.1μm。可为注射工艺设计提供合理的依据。     

带嵌件型腔内熔接过程的数值模拟研究

基于充模过程的两相黏弹性流体模型, 采用同位网格有限体积法, 结合浸入边界法和界面追踪的复合水平集流体体积方法实现了带嵌件型腔内充模过程的动态模拟. 基于上述模型和算法模拟了熔体前沿界面及熔接线的动态演化过程, 而且通过线性应力-光学定律得到了熔接线附近的流动诱导应力分布情况; 讨论了熔体温度及模具温度对熔接线区域凝固层厚度的影响. 数值结果表明: 本文提出的方法可用于模拟复杂型腔内的充模过程以及熔接线的自动追踪; 由于聚合物黏弹性熔体流动的复杂性, 当两股熔体相遇后, 熔接线不同位置的应力分布变化较大; 熔体或模具温度越高, 熔接线区域凝固层厚度越薄, 提高熔体或模具温度能够改善甚至消除充模过程中的熔接线.     

光学塑料元件低压注射成型技术的应用

光学塑料元件低压注射成型技术是相对于传统注射技术的一大改进。它包括压缩注射成型、低压高速成型、注入气体注射成型和降低模内压力成型。它的主要优点是降低压力、降低能源消耗、降低成本、提高工效、提高光学塑料元件质量。这对于我国光学塑料非球面的开发极有好处     

Injection Molding of Wood–Fiber/Plastic Composite Foams

This paper investigates the feasibility of injection-molded wood–fiber/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composite foams that can replace injection-molded HDPE solids in industrial applications. The study applies injection foam molding technology using a physical blowing agent to a wood–fiber/HDPE composite, and examines the effects of the processing parameters on the dimensional and mechanical properties and cell density of the composite foams. In addition, the physical properties and cost of wood–fiber/HDPE composite foams are compared with those of solid HDPE. The experimental results show that wood–fiber/HDPE composite foams that have a 20% weight reduction have superior physical properties, such as density, dimensional properties (68% decrease of shrinkage and 91% decrease of warpage) and mechanical properties (28% increase of Young's modulus). Furthermore, the cost analysis confirms that wood–fiber/HDPE composite foams are much less expensive (by 40%) than HDPE. Therefore, it is concluded that wood–fiber/HDPE composite foams are strong candidates for replacing current injection-molded HDPE products.     

改善塑料光学零件成型质量的几个问题

从改进注射成型技术和模具制造技术的角度介绍了提高塑料光学零件的质量所采取的措施。在抑制变形的成型技术中所采用的注射压缩成型方法中，用机械的方法对熔融塑料均匀加压以减小塑件的变形及残余应力。也可采用适当的补偿方法修正模具以补偿塑件的变形。在模具制造中可以在模芯表面镀一层非电镀镍，然后用金刚石车削机床加工，而获得很好的表面粗糙度和表面面形精度。     

Modeling the Effect of Injection Molding Process Parameters on Warpage Using Neural Network Theory

A back propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) prediction model for warpage of injection-molded polypropylene was developed based on an orthogonal design method. The BPANN model was trained by the input and output data obtained from the moldflow software platform simulations. It is proved that the BPANN model can predict the warpage with reasonable accuracy. Utilizing the BPANN model, the effects of the process parameters, packing pressure (Pp), melt temperature (T_me), mold temperature (T_mo), packing time (t_p), cooling time (t_c), and fill pressure (p_f), on the warpage were investigated. The most important process parameter affecting the warpage was Pp, and the second most important was T_me. The rest of the process parameters, T_mo, t_p, t_c, and p_f, were found to be relatively less influential. Warpage increased with elevating T_mo. In contrast, an increase in Pp and T_me caused the warpage to decrease.     

The Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Isotactic Polypropylene Injection-Molded Samples with the Presence of β-Nucleation Agent and Periodical Shear Field

The pressure vibration injection molding (PVIM) method was used to prepare β-nucleated isotactic polypropylene samples (PVIM β-iPP samples); a relatively low, periodical shear was imposed on the polymer melt in the mold at the filling and packing stages. The crystal structures and crystal orientation of the PVIM β-iPP samples were investigated by polarizing light microscopy (PLM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and synchrotron two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction (2D-WAXD). The PLM observations indicated that a cylindrite layer, rather than the transition layer, was found in PVIM β-iPP samples, which is different from the conventional injection-molded (CIM) samples. In addition, the thickness of the oriented layer of the PVIM samples was obviously greater than that of the CIM samples. The SEM observations demonstrated that a large amount of shish-kebab structures appeared in the shear layer of the PVIM β-iPP samples; at the same time, numerous β-spherulites were formed in the core layer. The 2D-WAXD data indicated that orientation homogeneity, to some degree, could be obtained by the periodical shear during PVIM. As a result, the above-mentioned morphology of the PVIM β-iPP samples leads to potentially useful prominent reinforcement and toughening of the material.     

Evaluation of Effect of Plastic Injection Molding Process Parameters on Shrinkage Based on Neural Network Simulation

The effects of process parameters, mold temperature (T _mo), melt temperature (T _me), cooling time (t_c ), fill pressure (P_f ), packing pressure (P_p ), and packing time (t_p ) on the shrinkage of injection molded polypropylene were investigated by utilizing a combination of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) method and Moldflow software. An ANN model is developed to understand the relationship between plastic injection molding process parameters and shrinkage. The test results on the performance of the ANN model show that it can predict the shrinkage with reasonable accuracy. The simulation results show that the most important process parameter affecting shrinkage is P_p , followed by T _me and T _mo, with t_c , P_f , and t_p having the least effect. Shrinkage increases with the elevated T _mo and t_c . In contrast, the increases in P_p , T_me , t_p , and P_f cause shrinkage to decrease. The strongest effect on the shrinkage is the amount of material forced into the mold, followed by the crystallinity and orientation of the material.     

A Monte Carlo scheme for tracking filling fronts

A Monte Carlo (MC) scheme for tracking filling fronts is developed. The test problem of tracking fluid injected into a thin mold is considered. The MC scheme iteratively redistributes the volume entering the mold among the cells of a spatial discretization. The transition probabilities used in the MC scheme, which determine how the fluid volume is redistributed, are derived from a discrete representation of the governing steady-state pressure equation. Analysis shows that the MC steps are equivalent to an iterative solution of the discrete equations. Further, it is shown that the MC scheme can be reconfigured into the form of a standard Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM). Results show that the proposed MC scheme is accurate, does not require an explicit field calculation of the fluid pressure field, and, when compared with existing numerical filling algorithms, exhibits computation times over 1000 times faster.     

Micro-hot-embossing of 316L stainless steel micro-structures

In this paper, the fabrication of an array of 316L stainless steel cylindrical micro-structures by hot-embossing is studied. The effects of various embossing parameters on the filling of the micro-cavities of silicon mold insert and the demolding of micro-structures are investigated. They include different silicon mold insert configurations, embossing pressure, embossing temperature, embossing time and the thickness of embossing substrate on which the micro-structures stand. Two types of silicon mold insert configurations are investigated. Hot-embossing study with the silicon mold insert attached on the upper mold plate shows that it is not feasible to achieve complete filling. Incomplete filling occurs and increasing the embossing pressure causes excessive thinning of the embossing substrate, so that micro-structures are torn off during demolding. Experiments show that the configuration that the silicon mold insert is positioned flush with lower mold surface improves complete filling. Using suitable embossing pressure and temperature, the larger substrate thickness and longer embossing time ensure the fabrication of defect-free fully filled micro-structures.     

Using a micro-molding process to fabricate polymeric wavelength filters

A procedure for fabricating a high aspect ratio periodic structure on a UV polymer at submicron order using holographic interferometry and molding processes is described. First, holographic interferometry using a He–Cd (325 nm) laser was used to create the master of the periodic line structure on an i-line sub-micron positive photoresist film. A 20 nm nickel thin film was then sputtered on the photoresist. The final line pattern on a UV polymer was obtained from casting against the master mold. Finally, a SU8 polymer was spun on the polymer grating to form a planar waveguide or a channel waveguide. The measurement results show that the waveguide length could be reduced for the waveguide having gratings with a high aspect ratio.     

A feasible injection molding technique for the manufacturing of large diameter aspheric plastic lenses

A computer aided engineering (CAE) tool-assisted technique, using Moldex3D and aspheric analysis utility (AAU) software in a polycarbonate injection molding design, is proposed to manufacture large diameter aspheric plastic lenses. An experiment is conducted to verify the applicability/feasibility of the proposed technique. Using the preceding two software tools, these crucial process parameters associated with the surface profile errors and birefringence of a molded lens can be attainable. The strategy adopted here is to use the actual quantity of shrinkage after an injection molding trial of an aspherical plastic lens as a reference to perform the core shaping job while keeping the coefficients of aspheric surface, radius, and conic constant unchanged. The design philosophy is characterized by using the CAE tool as a guideline to pursue the best symmetry condition, followed by injection molding trials, to accelerate a product’s developmental time. The advantages are less design complexity and shorter developmental time for a product.     

Development of a double-sided micro lens array for micro laser projector application

This paper introduces the development of a double-sided micro lens array (DSMLA) for application in micro laser projectors. For commercial mass production, it is necessary to investigate the concurrent engineering of optical design, mold fabrication, and plastic injection molding at once. This experiment based the design of the micro lens array on the scalar diffraction theory. The proposed DSMLA can simultaneously shape red, green, and blue laser beams into a uniform projection pattern. An ultra precision diamond turning machine using a slow tool servo method fabricated the mold. The study considered optical design constraints from the feedback of mold fabrication and plastic injection molding, measuring and comparing fabricated samples with calculated results. Experimental results show that the fabricated DSMLAs achieve the desired function and application feasibility for micro laser projectors.     

等温等效替代热压印法成型 超薄导光板的工艺分析

针对超薄导光板微结构模具难加工的问题,结合等温热压印法,提出了一种新型的"等效替代"压印工艺,即通过控制成型工艺参数来降低微结构复制高度,实现了在基片上成型出小于模具微结构尺寸的等效结构,突破了热压印过程中模具微结构完全等大复制的思想禁锢,降低了微结构模具加工难度,从而革新了高质量超薄导光板的成型工艺。以聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)为基片,设计具体实验,加工0.25 mm厚的导光板,验证这一方法的可行性。实验结果表明,这种新型的"等效替代"压印工艺不仅可以降低模具的制造难度和加工成本,而且可以大大改善超薄导光板的性能,与等温热压印工艺相比均匀度提高了23%,整个成型时间缩短到了20 s。     

Synthesis of PS colloidal crystal templates and ordered ZnO porous thin films by dip-drawing method

Polystyrene spheres (PS) were synthesized by an emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization technique and the PS colloidal crystal templates were assembled orderly on clean glass substrates by dip-drawing method from emulsion of PS. Porous ZnO thin films were prepared by filling the ZnO sol into the spaces among the close-packed PS templates and then annealing to remove the PS templates. The effects of ZnO precursor sol concentration and dipping time in sol on the porous structure of the thin films were studied. The results showed an ordered ZnO porous thin film with designed pore size that depended on the sol concentration and PS size could be obtained. And the shrinkage of pore diameter was about 30-43%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra indicated the thin film was wurtzite structure. The transmittance spectrum showed that optical transmittance decreased with the decrease of wavelength, but kept above 80% optical transmittances beyond the wavelength of 550 nm. Optical band gap of the porous ZnO thin film (fired at 500 °C) was 3.22 eV.     

Prediction of Heat Conduction with Phase-change Effects during Cooling Stage of Injection Molding of High-density Polyethylene: Approximate Integral Approach

Phase-change problems, also known as the “Stefan problems” or “moving-boundary problems,” are practically significant in modern technological and engineering fields. Injection molding, one of the most widely used polymer processing techniques, can be divided into three stages: filling, packing, and cooling. The cooling stage, which accounts for over three fourths of total molding cycles, greatly affects both productivity and quality of the molded articles. In this work, an approximate integral method was adopted to predict the transient heat conduction with phase-change effects during the cooling stage of injection molding of crystalline polymers. Experiments were conducted to compare with the calculated results, and reasonable agreement was obtained. It was concluded that the present modeling makes good predictions for the cooling stage of injection molding of crystalline polymers, which may be applicable to further studies on the microstructure evolutions during injection molding process as well as the optimal designs in industrial applications.     

Melt Vibration Improved Melt Flow Behavior and Mechanical Properties of High Density Polyethylene

A pulse pressure was superimposed on the melt flow resulting in melt vibration. With application of the melt vibration technology, the melt flow behavior and mechanical properties of high‐density polyethylene were studied. For vibration‐assisted extrusion (VAE) at constant vibration pressure amplitude, the viscosity decreases sharply with increasing vibration frequency, and also does so when increasing vibration pressure amplitude for VAE at constant vibration frequency. The effect of vibration field on melt rheological behavior is also related to the melt temperature; a large decease in viscosity is obtained at low melt temperature. Compared with the mechanical properties obtained by conventional injection molding (CIM), the mechanical properties for vibration‐assisted injection molding (VAIM) samples were improved by changing the vibration frequency and vibration pressure amplitude. Injected at constant low vibration pressure amplitude, the VAIM sample prepared at high vibration frequency shows large elongation at break; injected at constant low vibration frequency, the VAIM sample prepared at high vibration pressure amplitude shows greatly improved yield strength. The above two VAIM processing routes produce different VAIM samples with different fracture behaviors; a distinct layered structure for VAIM samples was observed by SEM.     

复杂型腔充模中纤维取向的动态模拟

基于描述短纤维增强复合材料充模过程的气-固-液三相模型及同位网格有限体积法, 实现了纤维增强复合材料沿复杂型腔水平中面充模过程的动态模拟. 不仅得到了界面位置、各物理量的信息, 而且得到了纤维在型腔中的运动情况(包括纤维的平动和取向). 结果表明, 与沿型腔厚度方向纤维取向的表层-芯层结构不同, 纤维沿型腔水平中面的取向与型腔结构有关, 入口处纤维取向环绕型腔入口, 沿水平或竖直方向纤维取向与来流方向垂直, 型腔拐角处纤维取向指向拐点.