No / Advances in micromoulding technology are leading to complex,net-shape products having sub-milligramme masses with micro-scale surface features in a range of polymer and nano-composite materials.For such small components subjected to the extreme stress,strain-rate and temperature gradients encountered in the micromoulding process,detailed process monitoring is desirable to highlight variations in moulding conditions and assist in creating a viable manufacturing process with acceptable quality products.This paper covers the implementation of a suite of sensors on a commercial micromoulding machine and detailed computer monitoring during processing of a polyacetal component over a range of processing conditions.The results determined that cavity pressure curve integral data provides the most sensitive factor for characterisation of a moulding process of a 0.34 mm~3(0.49 mg)product.The repeatability of the process is directly compared with that of a 15.6mm~3(22.2 mg)product and shown to beinferior.DSC measurements of the whole products indicated little variation in average crystallinity of the products manufactured over a mould temperature range of 30 to 130deg C.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/2890 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Whiteside, Benjamin R., Coates, Philip D., Martyn, Michael T. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, No full-text in the repository |
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