The COTECH knowledge database: assessment of critical factors in micro moulding

The European Large Scale Collaboration Project "COTECH" (Converging Technologies for Micro ystem Manufacturing, 2008-2012 has as one of its main objectives to improve the understanding of the micro injection moulding (μlM) process to enable its implementation in large-scale production conditions, and to propose innovative solutions of serial production control to ensure effective high quality industrial micro manufacture.
Specific research work has been undertaken during the COTECH project in order to monitor, characterize, analyse, and simulate the μlM process. Relations between the fundamental process input parameters and process quality factors and material characteristics have been established. To meet the goal of high accuracy processing and manufacturing during the whole process chain, different means of optimization technologies based on the design of experiments method have been employed. Methods to enhance the performance of the optimization methods have been demonstrated and validated.
Based on the research work carried out, selected μlM critical factors including μlM pressure, surface replication, filing flow pattern analysis, and process simulation are presented in this paper. Their effects and dependencies are describes, and recommendations for possible optimized process configuration discussed.