Abstract
Hot embossing is an efficient technique for manufacturing high-quality micro-lens arrays. The machining quality is significant for hot embossing the micro-lens array mold. This study investigates the effects of micro ball end-milling on the machining quality of AISI H13 tool steel used in the micro-lens array mold. The micro ball end-milling experiments were performed under different machining strategies, and the surface roughness and scallop height of the machined micro-lens array mold are measured. The experimental results showed that a three-dimensional (3D) offset spiral strategy could achieve a higher machining quality in comparison with other strategies assessed in this study. Moreover, the 3D offset spiral strategy is more appropriate for machining the micro-lens array mold. With an increase of the cutting speed and feed rate, the surface roughness of the micro-lens array mold slightly increases, while a small step-over can greatly reduce the surface roughness. In addition, a hot embossing experiment was undertaken, and the obtained results indicated higher-quality production of the micro-lens array mold by the 3D offset spiral strategy.
Highlights
Micro-lens arrays are widely used throughout the world and they have received increasing growth for a variety of applications [1]
Compared with the single direction raster and raster strategies, there are a number of differences on the textures of the micro-lens array mold machined under 3D offset spiral strategy
It can be seen that the surface morphology of the micro-lens array mold machined under the 3D offset spiral strategy contains few burrs at the bottom of the mold compared with that of other two strategies
Summary
Micro-lens arrays are widely used throughout the world and they have received increasing growth for a variety of applications [1]. Fabrication of micro-lens arrays with high accuracy and low cost has been studies by several scholars. The machining quality of micro-lens array molds is significant for the fabrication process. The molding process of micro-lens array should be machined with great surface quality, higher machining accuracy, and uniform consistency. The machining strategies and cutting parameters have shown significant impacts on the surface roughness, surface textures, and machining efficiency of micro-milling process. In the fabrication of micro-lens array technology, Xie et al [13] proposed a novel rapid hot micro-embossing technique utilizing micro-patterned silicon stampers coated with a newly-developed carbide-bonded graphene network to implement rapid heating and cooling. This study attempts to examine the fabrication of a micro-lens array by micro ball end-milling and the relevant hot embossing processes. The fabrication of a micro-lens array by the hot embossing process is experimentally assessed, and the effects of the machining method on the quality of the micro-lens array produced by hot embossing are evaluated as well
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