Fabrication of a Large-Area, Fused Polymer Micromold Based on Electric-Field-Driven (EFD) μ-3D Printing
Fabrication of a Large-Area, Fused Polymer Micromold Based on Electric-Field-Driven (EFD) μ-3D Printing
复制标题
基于电场驱动 (EFD) mu-3D 打印的大面积熔融聚合物微模具的制造
DOI:
10.3390/polym11111902
复制
发表时间:
2019-11-01
期刊:
影响因子:
5
通讯作者:
Lan, Hongbo
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Peng, Zilong;Gou, Nairui;Lan, Hongbo
An electric-field-driven (EFD), mu-3D printed, fused polymer technique has been developed for the fabrication of large-area microscale prototype molds using typical polymer materials, including microcrystalline wax (MC-wax), polycaprolactone (PCL), and polymathic methacrylate (PMMA). This work proposes an alternative for large area microscale modes and overcomes the limitation of high cost in the traditional mold manufacturing industry. The EFD principle enables printing of fused polymers materials more than one order of magnitude lower than the nozzle diameter, contributing to the necking effect of the Taylor cone jet, which is the key factor to achieve the microscale manufacturing. Numerical simulation of electric field distribution between the meniscus and substrate was carried out to elucidate the dependence of electric field distribution on the meniscus condition of three types of polymers under printable voltage, and the electrical field parameters for the EFD mu-3D printing were determined. A number of experiments were printed successfully using a large range of viscosity materials, ranging from tens of mPas to hundreds of thousands of mPas of PCL and PMMA. The differences in parameters of different materials, such as viscosity, tensile properties, and surface energy, were studied to assess their use in different fields. Using proper process parameters and a nozzle with an inner diameter of 200 mu m, three different application cases were completed, including a Wax microarray and microchannel with a minimum dot diameter of 20 mu m, a PCL mesh structure with a minimum line width of 5 mu m, and a PMMA large-area mold with a maximum aspect ratio of 0.8. Results show that the EFD mu-3D printing has the outstanding advantages of high printing resolution and polymer material universality.