MNS Tecan vFinal DR 27/6/08 10:29 Page 17
MICRONANOSYSTEMS
17
Micro designers embrace
Photo Electro Forming
David Worsdell, Marketing Manager, Tecan looks at how lateral
thinking micro designers are embracing Photo Electro Forming
(UV-LIGA) for next-generation mass production needs.
M
icrostructure specialists at Major benefits of PEF, over alternative
Tecan’s class 1000 options such as micro-milling, micro-edm or
micro-manufacturing facility micro laser techniques, are essentially two fold,
have breached traditional manufacturing obstacles says the company.
to deliver low-cost micro metal parts, and larger Firstly, if you are creating a micro part using
parts with ultra-fine features, suitable for a vast PEF, a molecule-by-molecule growing process, you
range of traditional and as yet undeveloped create parts that are exceptionally accurate and
next-generation applications. Products will be free from stresses and burrs. These significant
repeatedly made significantly smaller and finer, at advantages are not available from micro-milling
lower cost and with fewer production processes. or micro laser techniques that can leave burrs and
In addition to nickel, the parts can be formed stresses. These can be removed using secondary
in other metals such as copper or gold. processes, but of course this involves further Diagrams 1 and 1a.
Established ideas are being challenged and new investments in time and money. It is possible to Process step 1: Clean
boundaries created by Photo Electro Forming produce virtually burr and stress-free micro parts and coat the
(PEF) technology (also known as UV-LIGA) which if the micro-laser/milling process is slowed to a mandrel with
is increasingly attracting lateral thinking designers minimum, but again this has disadvantages in time photoresist
and OEMs due to its proven ability to produce and labour costs.
ultra-fine metal parts in volume for a host of Secondly, and equally importantly, once a PEF
next-generation MEMS and micro-applications. product design is cleared for production, highly
cost-effective mass production can be achieved.
For example, millions of parts of the same shape,
or a mixture of different parts, can all be
produced, simultaneously on a single metal sheet
in a single production process. So versatile is the
process that as well as large quantities of micro
parts being produced, single large parts with large
quantities of micro characteristics, such as test
sieves for laboratories, can also be produced. All
these with burr and stress-free apertures and edges
and with huge savings in time and costs compared
to alternative ‘one-by-one’ options.
It is fair to say that the PEF design and tooling
process is potentially more expensive, but in the Diagrams 2 and 2a.
overall production process this can be easily Process step 2: Bring
covered by the fundamental advantages of the a photo tool into
process. Tecan maintains an open-minded hard contact with
philosophy and understands that there are times the photoresist
July 2008
www.micronanosystems.info
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