A Strategy for Rapid Thermal Cycling of Molds in Thermoplastic Processing

Thermal cycling of molds is frequently desired in thermoplastic processing. Thermal cycling of the entire mold with a large mass, however, requires an exceedingly long cycle time. A processing strategy for mold rapid heating and cooling, involving a thin-shell mold and two thermal stations (one hot and one cold), was investigated. Because of its low thermal mass, the shell mold can be rapidly heated and cooled through heat conduction by selectively contacting with the two stations. Numerical simulations were performed to study the effect of different design parameters, including thermal contact resistance, shell material, and shell thickness, on the thermal response at the mold surface. Experimental studies showed aluminum shell molds with a thickness of $1.4mm$ can be rapidly heated from room temperature to $200°C$ in about $3s$ using a hot station at $250°C$⁠. The method was used for thermal cycling of embossing tools. Surface microfeatures can be rapidly transferred from thin metallic stamps to polymer substrates with cycle times less than $10s$⁠.