Study on polymer burr delamination from a mold surface via excimer laser

Abstract

In injection molding of thermosetting resins, resin burrs may be deposited on the mold surface resulting in product defects. Therefore, it is necessary to remove these resin burrs at high speed. In this study, we investigated the delamination of resin burrs from the mold surface using an excimer laser, which can emit a relatively high-energy pulse beam, leading to large-area processing. Unlike conventional methods, delamination could be achieved with an area on the order of millimeters with a single pulse of laser irradiation. The fluence of the laser beam, the thickness of the resin burr, and the surface roughness of the mold were identified as factors affecting delamination performance. Finally, delamination was shown to be caused by outgassing from the resin when the temperature increased, thermal expansion and contraction of the resin burrs, and laser ablation.