Reported is the manufacture and optimisation of inverted micro-pyramid cavity structures into thermoplastic sheets using roll-to-roll (R2R) embossing. To manufacture the master, an ultra-precision diamond machining (UPDM) method was applied to create seamless surface structures into a copper-coated hot embossing roller. Using the hot embossing process, the roller features were successfully transferred to 2mm thick polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sheets. Optimisation of the R2R control process variables was conducted using Taguchi's numerical methods, which showed the importance of roller temperature for successful pattern transfer. The work shows that our process allows for microstructures to be manufactured into extruded PMMA sheets in a continuous process.

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