Description:
Molding represents a category of manufacturing processes where the material is deformed in its liquid or semi-liquid state inside a mold and subsequently solidifies to lock the geometry. During the past 15 years, there has been much work worldwide on adaptation of conventional molding processes to microfabrication, resulting in the emerging micro molding technology. This consistency in technological development is primarily driven by the increasing demand for net-shape precision and miniature parts in the fast growing telecommunication, electronic, biomedical and biochemical industries. With micro molding, micro parts and parts with microfeatures can be fabricated in a cost-effective way, and a variety of engineering materials including polymers, metallic alloys, and ceramics can be processed. The consideration of process setup, tooling, material structure, and simulation in micro molding, however, is quite different from that in conventional molding. Due to the so-called size effect, some proven strategies in conventional molding need to be modified for the successful adaptation into the micro world. Recent advances in micro molding, with a particular focus on the fundamental understanding of the unique set of problems related to miniaturization, will be discussed. New developments in processing, tooling, materials, modeling, and process control will be highlighted.