Interest in micro structures soars as orders quadruple

Interest in micro structures soars as orders quadruple

Keywords: Electroforming, Metals, Tecan

Ultra-fine electroformed metal parts, fabricated to previously unheard of levels of accuracy and resolution, are the focus of unprecedented interest by electronics and micro-engineering designers, according to the recently launched Micro Structures Division of Dorset based specialist Tecan. The division has seen its whole-year sales forecast satisfied in the first quarter of 2003,effectively quadrupling its sales potential for the new technology in its first year of operation (Plate 1).

 Plate 1 Tecan's Micro Structures Division has seen it's whole-year sales forecast

Micro structure specialists at the division's ultra-modern new facility have breached traditional manufacturing obstacles to deliver low-cost micro metal parts, and larger parts with ultra-fine features, for a vast new applications arena, typically covering electronics, optical, medical and aerospace. The inherent advantages of the technology are expected to be exploited by a wide range of industries, for the demanding next- generation micro applications,where products will be repeatedly made significantly smaller and finer, at lower cost and with fewer production processes.

Typical micro-applications include sensors, actuators, hearing aids, medical devices, optical instruments, micro-lenses, meshes, masks, displays and micro-fluidic devices. Micro structures can be manufactured to extremely small scale, with features, such as apertures, fluid channels or raised lands, down to 1 or 2 microns – with tolerances at sub-micron levels. They will also be employed in micro electro- mechanical systems (MEMS) and micro optical electro-mechanical structures (MOEMS). Similarly, the company can produce larger parts, up to 300 × 300 mm, with equally fine resolutions.