Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CONMIC (Concrete micromolds for microinjection molding)
Reporting period: 2016-07-01 to 2017-06-30
Microinjection molding is the current standard technology for the production of microcomponents. There is an increasing demand for microcomponents with feature sizes down to micrometers due to a general trend towards miniaturization in the medical and automotive industry. The main problem to meet this demand is the considerable fix-cost of the micromolds (microstructured injection tool inserts). Currently, the methods for their fabrication are techniques with very high capital and maintenance costs.
The goal of the project CONMIC was the development of concrete micromolds, which can be produced at significantly reduced costs, thus making microinjection molding more profitable and variable. We showed that concrete is a surprisingly versatile material for this purpose. The amazing feature of the concrete micromolds is their extremely smooth surface having sub-micron roughness, an exact replication of even micrometer size features, and their excellent stability. Lower fix costs for concrete micromolds allow microinjection molding also of smaller numbers of microparts for special demands, e.g. for medical applications, thus opening new markets for microinjection molding.
The goal of the project CONMIC was the development of concrete micromolds, which can be produced at significantly reduced costs, thus making microinjection molding more profitable and variable. We showed that concrete is a surprisingly versatile material for this purpose. The amazing feature of the concrete micromolds is their extremely smooth surface having sub-micron roughness, an exact replication of even micrometer size features, and their excellent stability. Lower fix costs for concrete micromolds allow microinjection molding also of smaller numbers of microparts for special demands, e.g. for medical applications, thus opening new markets for microinjection molding.