MICRO MOULDING | ARTICLE MICRO INJECTION: So Much More than Little Pieces of Plastic


The rise of micro technologies and their application in diverse fields such as MEMS, micro devices, micro fluidics, biomedicine (medication dosages, implants, minimally-invasive surgery, etc.) and others has been driving manufacturing technology for many years to solve the micro size versus productivity and repeatability problem. One manufacturing technology that is generating the greatest expectations and satisfying a large part of these needs is the micro injection of thermo- plastic polymers.


Micro injection process


From a physical point of view, it must be remembered that during micro injection a thermal polymer is being subjected to extreme rheological conditions. This is because it is being put into a very small volume in very complex ways, with a very high surface to volume ratio which makes the heating/cooling thermodynamic processes rather brusque and subject to extreme pressure and shear conditions. This makes the behaviour of the material unusual and, therefore, the conditions the micro mould needs to fulfil and the process parameters need to be adapted to these physical circumstances of the material during the process. Last, but no less important,


Continued on page 14 13 | commercial micro manufacturing international Vol 7 No.1


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