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Effect of feature spacing when injection molding parts with microstructured surfaces
Author(s) -
Birkar Smita,
Mendible Gabriel,
Park JinGoo,
Mead Joey L.,
Johnston Stephen P.,
Barry Carol M. F.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.24164
Subject(s) - replication (statistics) , materials science , feature (linguistics) , molding (decorative) , thermoplastic , composite material , elastomer , thermoplastic elastomer , relaxation (psychology) , scanning electron microscope , polymer , copolymer , psychology , social psychology , philosophy , linguistics , statistics , mathematics
The effects of microfeature spacing on the replication of thermoplastic elastomer features was investigated using micropillars with two diameters (10 μ m and 20 μ m) and three spacing ratios (0.5:1, 1:1, and 2:1). The tooling and part features were characterized for feature depth and height as well as feature definition using scanning electron microscopy and optical profilometry. Filling simulations provided insight into the process. Feature spacing significantly affected the replication of micropillars using a thermoplastic elastomer. This replication was competition between pressurization, relaxation, and cooling of the melt. Higher pressures generally improved feature replication, but did not always create perfect replication. Relaxation of the highly aligned polymer chains and cooling effects restricted filling, tended to reduce feature height, and increase feature diameters. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:1330–1338, 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers