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Effect of the inclined angle of micromilling tool on the fabrication of the microfluidic channel

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Abstract

Micromilling is a common processing method for fabricating microfluidic chips or other microproducts with high processing accuracy and low cost, which is suitable for mass production. The main concern of micromilling is the surface roughness of the work material. However, only a small range of surface roughness can be obtained in the general study of micromilling by changing the processing parameters, which is very difficult to obtain a specific roughness. In the process of micromilling with end mills, due to the structural characteristics of the tool tip, the inclination angle of the tool has a significant impact on the bottom surface of the machined channels. In this work, the influence of the tool inclination on the surface roughness was studied through the inclined micromilling tests of the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surface, and it was proposed to realize the control of the machined surface roughness by inclined micromilling. In addition, a theoretical model considering tool inclination was established to calculate the surface roughness of the machined bottom obtained by inclined micromilling. The experimental results were consistent with the theoretical results under the low speeds. Afterwards, the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used to replicate the microchannel machined on the PMMA surface, and the microfluidic chips were prepared to control the fluid flow in the channel by adjusting the roughness of the bottom of the channel. Results indicated that the smoother channel flowed first under the same flow pressure. The study offers a new idea of surface roughness control, which can be applied to flow control in microfluidic chips.

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Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52222512, 52005134), Self-Planned Task (No. SKLRS202214B) of State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System (HIT), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. HIT.BRET.2022008 and FRFCU5710050521).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System (HIT), Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Yanquan Geng, Suyu Zhang, Jiqiang Wang, Chen Li & Yongda Yan

  2. Center for Precision Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China

    Yanquan Geng, Suyu Zhang, Jiqiang Wang & Yongda Yan

  3. College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Guijian Xiao

Authors
  1. Yanquan Geng
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  2. Suyu Zhang
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  3. Jiqiang Wang
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  4. Guijian Xiao
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  5. Chen Li
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  6. Yongda Yan
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Contributions

Yanquan Geng: methodology, validation, investigation, visualization, and writing—original draft. Suyu Zhang: investigation and writing—original draft and editing. Jiqiang Wang: conceptualization and methodology. Guijian Xiao: writing—reviewing and editing. Chen Li: supervision, visualization, and writing—reviewing and editing. Yongda Yan: supervision, visualization, and writing—reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Chen Li or Yongda Yan.

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We would like to submit the manuscript entitled “Effect of the inclined angle of micromilling tool on the fabrication of the microfluidic channel,” for your consideration for publication in International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and the manuscript is approved by all authors for publication.

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Geng, Y., Zhang, S., Wang, J. et al. Effect of the inclined angle of micromilling tool on the fabrication of the microfluidic channel. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 125, 3069–3079 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-10958-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-10958-5

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