Replicative manufacturing of metal moulds for low surface roughness polymer replication

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32767-2
• Publication Date: 2022-08-27T08:02:44Z
• Authors: Sebastian Kluck; Leonhard Hambitzer; Manuel Luitz; Markus Mader; Mario Sanjaya; Andreas Balster; Marcel Milich; Christian Greiner; Frederik Kotz-Helmer; Bastian E. Rapp
• Keywords: Injection moulding; Replication; Molding (decorative); Investment casting; Rapid Prototyping; Brass

Tool based manufacturing processes like injection moulding allow fast and high-quality mass-market production, but for optical polymer components the production of necessary tools is time-consuming expensive. In this paper a process to fabricate metal-inserts tool with smooth surfaces via casting replication from fused silica templates presented. Bronze, brass cobalt-chromium could be successfully replicated shaped replications achieving surface roughnesses Rq 8 nm microstructures in range 5 µm. Injection was performed, using commercially available system, thousands replicas generated same tool. addition, three-dimensional bodies metal realised 3D-Printing moulds. This work thus represents an approach scalable facile cost-effective route surpassing currently employed cost-, labour- equipment-intensive machining techniques.