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Micromolding

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Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics

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Synonyms

Compression molding; Injection molding; Hot embossing; Hot press molding; Polymer casting; Replica molding; Thermoforming

Definition

Micromolding is a set of fabrication techniques for replicating microstructures in polymers using molds (also commonly known as masters or tools) to define features. The three most common micromolding techniques are injection molding, hot embossing, and casting. Micromolding involves four primary steps: microfabrication of the mold containing a negative or inverse of the desired pattern geometry, introduction of polymer material to the mold, curing or cooling of the polymer material, and release or separation of the molded polymer from the mold.

Overview

Polymer microfabrication has become a popular alternative to the well-established silicon and glass-based microelectromechanical system (MEMS) fabrication technologies, particularly for microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip (LOC) applications. Polymers have several major advantages that are not...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing Systems, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Ian Papautsky & Erik T. K. Peterson

Authors
  1. Ian Papautsky
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  2. Erik T. K. Peterson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ian Papautsky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. VU Station B 351592, Vanderbilt University Dept. Mechanical Engineering, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Dongqing Li

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Papautsky, I., Peterson, E.T.K. (2014). Micromolding. In: Li, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_986-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_986-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27758-0

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