High Pressure Soft Lithography for Micro-Topographical Patterning of Molded Polymers and Composites

摘要

A soft lithography template or stamp is made by casting a polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) or other suitable elastomeric precursor onto a master pattern. The master pattern may be formed utilizing known micro-fabrication techniques. The PDMS template includes an inverse copy of the micro-structures on the master pattern, and can be placed into a mold used to prepare a carbon-fiber reinforced polymer composite part or other polymer molding systems where a matrix material passes through a fluid state during the cure process. The liquid resin material flows into the structures on the surface of the PDMS template and hardens during the curing cycle. After the part is released from the mold, the PDMS template can be peeled from the surface of the part to reveal the free standing micro structures which are a replica of the master pattern.

主权项

1. A method of forming a surface in a composite material having a curable matrix and fiber reinforcement, the method comprising;
forming a flexible template having a template surface comprising a plurality of surface features that are inverses of micro-structures to be formed on the surface of a composite material; positioning the flexible template in a mold tool having a curved surface whereby the flexible template flexes to conform to the curved surfaces of the mold; covering at least a portion of the template with the composite material, wherein the composite material comprises a matrix material having a flowable state and fiber reinforcement; applying pressure to the composite material to cause at least some of the matrix material to flow into the surface features of the template; solidifying the matrix material to form a composite object having an object surface with defined micro-structures that are inverses of the surface features of the template surface; and disengaging the composite part from the template to expose the object surface.