Replication of large scale micro pillar array with different diameters by micro injection molding

Abstract

The capillary force is always used as the driving force of microfluidic chips. In this study, the capillary force of blood smart diagnostic microfluidic chip which fabricated by micro-injection molding (μ-IM) is offered by the structure of micro pillar array. And the detection effect of blood smart diagnostic microfluidic chips is affected by the replication and height distribution of large scale micro pillar array. So the effect of process parameters on the micro-structure and the height distribution of micro pillar is studied. The mold design is also an important factor affecting micro parts properties. In this study, a steel mold insert with almost 15,500 micro blind cavities was fabricated by milling, electrical discharge machine and Femtosecond Laser process. Polymethyl methacrylate -Polystyrene copolymer (SMMA NAS 30) was used as the molding material. The single factor trail and orthogonal experiment approach were adopted to investigate the effect of several process parameters and the significant effect factors affecting the replication of micro pillar. And the height distribution of micro pillar array was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and universal tool-measuring microscope to measure the replication quality. The results reveal that the replication of micro pillar is sensitive to the flow direction of the polymer melt. The height of micro pillar increases with the increase of mold temperature and injection speed. Moreover, the height distribution of micro pillar along and against flow direction was tightly related to the thermomechanical history of material during the molding process.