Investigation into the Warm Extrusion for Micropart with Laser-Aided Heating Method

Abstract

The rapid market need of MEMS (Micro Electromechanical System) and metal microparts are increasing gradually. The plastic microforming has received more interests and applications in MEMS because it ensures high precision and manufacturing efficiency. However, it raises the higher demand on the microforming and plastic processing technology. Here we present one new process to micro-extrude microparts with laser-aided heating method. The new process is to selectively heat the workpiece with the laser radiation method to the suitable temperature that is between room temperature and recrystallization temperature, and to extrude the workpiece. This process is characterized by decreasing the influence of strain strengthening and lowering the resistance to deformation, and increasing the uniformity of material flow. The key elements of the approach concerning the warm micro-extrusion and temperature control, such as process parameters, laser heating system, micro-extrusion die structure, have been advanced. Furthermore, an important aspect of the research is that the developed system and theory of micro warm extrusion based on laser heating can be explored for further investigation and understanding of plastic microforming.