Specific Process Knowledge/Back-end processing/Polymer Injection Molder: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 09:50, 26 January 2024

Feedback to this page: click here

Polymer injection molding

The Polymer Injection Molder is no more an open access tool has been moved to DTU Construct

Injection molding machine in the basement under the cleanroom

The injection molder at DTU Nanolab is an Engel Victory Tech 80/45 which is a hydraulic machine with single motor. The machine is also equipped with a robot which can pick up finished samples and place them on a conveyor belt. See the table below for key capabilities of this machine. The user manual, user APV, technical information and contact information can be found in LabManager:

Polymer injection molding Info on LabManager (Click 'Documents' tab to go to documents).

Equipment performance

The polymer injection molding machine at DTU Nanolab is a hydraulic system with the following capabilities:

Parameter		Value
General	Tools	Flat disc, Disc with Luer connectors, Microscope slide
General	Clamping force	Up to 450 kN
Processing temperatures	Mold temperature	~15°C to 140°C
Processing temperatures	Heating cylinder	Absolute max: 350°C
Molding parameters	Injection speed	Up to 53 cm³/s
	Injection pressure	Up to 2200 bar
	Process types	Constant or variable mold temperature

Polymers

At DTU Nanolab the following polymers are used routinely:

Topas 5013L-10
Topas 8007S-04
PP
PMMA

Topas polymers are supplied by Nanolab. All other polymers are purchased by the users themselves. All polymers (and each individual grade of each polymer) must be approved for use at DTU Nanolab. If you would like to use a new polymer or a new grade of a certain polymer, please fill out the application form which can be found in LabManager by going to the 'Documents' tab of the 'Info' page for the Polymer Injection Molding machine. You can also click this direct link: New_polymer_application.dotx.

When the polymer has been approved you will receive labels which must be used to label your polymer. All polymers left in the injection molding room must be marked with this official DTU Nanolab label. Polymers not labelled appropriately may be thrown out at any time.

The easiest way to get an overview of polymers and processes used on the polymer injection molding machine is to go to LabManager and consult the Process Log for the injection molding machine. If you would like use a non-Nanolab polymer for a test, please contact the owner of the polymer and ask if you can have a sample. A complete list of all polymers in use at DTU Nanolab and who owns them can be found in LabManager on the Info page for the polymer injection molding machine on the 'Documents' tab. You can also click this direct link: Approved_polymers_list.pdf.

Process parameters and optimization

There are no standard injection molding processes because it varies significantly how users prefer to optimize their process and how they prioritize parameters such as polymer type, replication fidelity, dimensional accuracy, optical properties, residual stress and cycle time. However, browsing through the Process Log it's usually not a problem to find a program made for the polymer and tool at hand which can be used as a starting point.

The injection moulding cycle consists of the steps outlined below. Click on each step to get a description of the most important process parameters for each step:

Advanced process parameter optimization and features

This LabAdviser page is just a quick overview of the most important parameters and features. For a full description of parameters and machine features, please refer to the full operating manual from Engel. It can be found in LabManager under Equipment Info -> Polymer Injection Molding -> Documents -> Technical Documents -> EN-VC_Standard_dtu or by clicking this direct link: EN-VC_Standard_dtu.pdf. Please note that this manual refers to a slightly larger machine and some features that are not all available on DTU Nanolab's machine, but all general guidelines and descriptions of the user interface are valid.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-=<span style="background:#FF2800">THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION</span>[[image:Under_construction.png|200px]]=
+'''Feedback to this page''': '''[mailto:wetchemistry@nanolab.dtu.dk?Subject=Feed%20back%20from%20page%20http://labadviser.nanolab.dtu.dk/index.php/Specific_Process_Knowledge/Back-end_processing/Polymer_Injection_Molder click here]'''
-'''Feedback to this page''': '''[mailto:labadviser@danchip.dtu.dk?Subject=Feed%20back%20from%20page%20http://labadviser.danchip.dtu.dk/... click here]'''
+== Polymer injection molding ==
-<!-- Replace "http://labadviser.danchip.dtu.dk/..." wih the link to the Labadviser page-->
-== Technotrans microform.200 ==
+'''The Polymer Injection Molder is no more an open access tool has been moved to DTU Construct'''
-The Technotrans microform.200 (Electroplating-Ni in LabManager) is a machine capable of depositing nickel electrochemically. This is done by lowering the sample into an electrolyte containing nickel ions and then apply a voltage across the sample and the anode. The anode is a basket filled with nickel pellets. The cathode is the sample to be coated with nickel.
+[[image:Imm.jpg|200x200px|right|thumb|Injection molding machine in the basement under the cleanroom]]
-At the anode metallic nickel is oxidized to nickel ions:
+The injection molder at DTU Nanolab is an Engel Victory Tech 80/45 which is a hydraulic machine with single motor. The machine is also equipped with a robot which can pick up finished samples and place them on a conveyor belt. See the table below for key capabilities of this machine. '''The user manual, user APV, technical information and contact information can be found in LabManager:'''
-Ni (s) &rArr; Ni<sup>2+</sup> (aq) + 2 e<sup>-</sup>
-At the cathode (the sample surface), nickel ions from solution are reduced to metallic nickel:
-Ni<sup>2+</sup> (aq) + 2 e<sup>-</sup> &rArr; Ni (s)
-The minimal charge accepted by the software on the machine is 0.1 Ah (Ampere-hours). This corresponds to roughly 2 µm of nickel on a four inch wafer. You can abort a program prematurely to achieve even lower thicknesses, but this requires manual control of the machine.
-The maximum allowed thickness is ~1,4 mm (1400 µm), since higher a thickness will make the release of the sample difficult. This corresponds to a charge of 53-54 Ah on a four inch wafer.
-The plating bath is an aqueous solution of nickel sulphamate, boric acid and sulfamic acid. The bath is moderately acidic (pH = 3,5 - 3,8) and the temperature of the bath is 51-52°C. The sample will spin at 60 RPM during deposition.
-Uniformity across a 4" wafer is around 5% for the standard processes (the edge being slightly thicker than the center of the sample). Running at high current densities will deposit a nickel layer that is quite soft. Decreasing current density will increase tensile strength of the deposited nickel.
-'''The user manual(s), quality control procedure(s) and results, user APV(s), technical information and contact information can be found in LabManager:'''
+[http://www.labmanager.dtu.dk/function.php?module=Machine&view=view&mach=278 Polymer injection molding Info on LabManager] (Click 'Documents' tab to go to documents).
-<!-- remember to remove the type of documents that are not present -->
-[[image:choi_2017_Machine_overview.jpg|200x200px|right|thumb|Electroplating-Ni positioned in cleanroom 1]]
+==Equipment performance==
-<!-- give the link to the equipment info page in LabManager: -->
+The polymer injection molding machine at DTU Nanolab is a hydraulic system with the following capabilities:
-[http://labmanager.danchip.dtu.dk/function.php?module=Machine&view=view&mach=274 Electroplating-Ni Info on LabManager]
-== Process information ==
-*[[Specific Process Knowledge/Thin film deposition/Deposition of Nickel/Electroplating of nickel|Description of standard processes]]
-==Equipment performance and process related parameters==
 {| border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"
@@ Line 43: / Line 20: @@
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|<b>Value</b>
 |-
-!style="background:silver; color:black" align="center" valign="center" rowspan="2"|Sample dimensions
+!style="background:silver; color:black" align="center" valign="center" rowspan="2"|General
-|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Diameter
+|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Tools
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|
-, 100 or 150 mm (~ 2", 4" or 6")
+Flat disc, Disc with Luer connectors, Microscope slide
 |-
-|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Sample thickness
+|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Clamping force
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|
-Maximum 1,0 mm
+Up to 450 kN
 |-
-!style="background:silver; color:black" align="center" valign="center" rowspan="2"|Process parameters
+!style="background:silver; color:black" align="center" valign="center" rowspan="2"|Processing temperatures
-|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Temperature
+|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Mold temperature
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|
-*C
+~15°C to 140°C
 |-
-|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|pH
+|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Heating cylinder
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|
-,5 - 3,8
+Absolute max: 350°C
 |-
-!style="background:silver; color:black" align="center" valign="center" rowspan="3"|Sample requirements
+!style="background:silver; color:black" align="center" valign="center" rowspan="3"|Molding parameters
-|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Seed metal
+|style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Injection speed
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|
-nm of either NiV, Ti+Au or Cr+Au recommended. Most commonly seed metals are sputtered using the [[Specific Process Knowledge/Thin film deposition/Lesker|Sputter-System(Lesker)]].
+Up to 53 cm<sup>3</sup>/s
 |-
-| style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Allowed materials
+| style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Injection pressure
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|
-Most materials allowed. See below.
+Up to 2200 bar
 |-
-| style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Forbidden materials
+| style="background:LightGrey; color:black"|Process types
 |style="background:WhiteSmoke; color:black"|
-Copper, cobalt. See machine manual on LabManager for details
+Constant or variable mold temperature
 |}
 <br clear="all" />
+== Polymers ==
+At DTU Nanolab the following polymers are used routinely:
+*Topas 5013L-10<br>
+*Topas 8007S-04<br>
+*PP<br>
+*PMMA<br>
+Topas polymers are supplied by Nanolab. All other polymers are purchased by the users themselves. All polymers (and each individual grade of each polymer) must be approved for use at DTU Nanolab. If you would like to use a new polymer or a new grade of a certain polymer, please fill out the application form which can be found in LabManager by going to the 'Documents' tab of the 'Info' page for the Polymer Injection Molding machine. You can also click this direct link: [http://labmanager.dtu.dk/view_binary.php?fileId=2857 New_polymer_application.dotx].
+When the polymer has been approved you will receive labels which must be used to label your polymer. All polymers left in the injection molding room must be marked with this official DTU Nanolab label. '''Polymers not labelled appropriately may be thrown out at any time'''.
+The easiest way to get an overview of polymers and processes used on the polymer injection molding machine is to go to LabManager and consult the [http://labmanager.dtu.dk/function.php?module=Processlog&view=editlog&machid=278 Process Log for the injection molding machine]. If you would like use a non-Nanolab polymer for a test, please contact the owner of the polymer and ask if you can have a sample. A complete list of all polymers in use at DTU Nanolab and who owns them can be found in LabManager on the Info page for the polymer injection molding machine on the 'Documents' tab. You can also click this direct link: [http://labmanager.dtu.dk/view_binary.php?fileId=3723 Approved_polymers_list.pdf].
+==Process parameters and optimization==
+There are no standard injection molding processes because it varies significantly how users prefer to optimize their process and how they prioritize parameters such as polymer type, replication fidelity, dimensional accuracy, optical properties, residual stress and cycle time. However, browsing through the [http://labmanager.dtu.dk/function.php?module=Processlog&view=editlog&machid=278 Process Log] it's usually not a problem to find a program made for the polymer and tool at hand which can be used as a starting point.
+The injection moulding cycle consists of the steps outlined below. Click on each step to get a description of the most important process parameters for each step:
+#[[/MoldTemp|Mold heating setup]]<br>
+#[[/MoldClose|Closing mold]]<br>
+#[[/Injection|Injection]]<br>
+#[[/SwitchOver|Switch-over type]]<br>
+#[[/AfterPressure|After (holding) pressure]]<br>
+#[[/Cooling|Cooling]]<br>
+#[[/Dosing|Dosing (plastizising)]]<br>
+#[[/Demolding|Demolding]]<br>
+#[[/Eject|Ejection]]<br>
+#[[/Robot|Robot sample pickup]]<br>
+#[[/Nozzle|Nozzle settings]]
+#[[/Process|Process overview]]
+==Advanced process parameter optimization and features==
+This LabAdviser page is just a quick overview of the most important parameters and features. For a full description of parameters and machine features, please refer to the full operating manual from Engel. It can be found in LabManager under Equipment Info -> Polymer Injection Molding -> Documents -> Technical Documents -> EN-VC_Standard_dtu or by clicking this direct link: [http://labmanager.dtu.dk/view_binary.php?fileId=4388 EN-VC_Standard_dtu.pdf]. Please note that this manual refers to a slightly larger machine and some features that are not all available on DTU Nanolab's machine, but all general guidelines and descriptions of the user interface are valid.