Attempts to fabricate micro injection molding tools and assemble molded micro parts on same EDM machine

An EDM method for manufacturing plastic micro gear pumps is proposed. Micro gates and cavities for mating gears are machined by EDM in both sides of a stainless steel foil, respectively. The foil is then transferred to an injection molding machine, and fixed to a mold to form mating gears by injecti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:CIRP annals 2018, Vol.67 (1), p.213-216
Main Authors: Oshima, Kazuki, Kunieda, Masanori
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Assembly
Electrical discharge machining
Micro injection molding
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Summary:An EDM method for manufacturing plastic micro gear pumps is proposed. Micro gates and cavities for mating gears are machined by EDM in both sides of a stainless steel foil, respectively. The foil is then transferred to an injection molding machine, and fixed to a mold to form mating gears by injection molding. The mating gears formed on the foils are then re-positioned on the EDM machine, released from the foil, and placed in a second foil pre-machined by EDM for the pump housing, using an ejector pin fabricated by reshaping the tool electrode used to machine the two foils.
ISSN:0007-8506
DOI:10.1016/j.cirp.2018.04.100