Development of precise micro press forming system for fabrication of micro parts

In this study, a precise micro press forming system was developed and applied to fabricate micro parts/units. The parts can be formed in several processes and assembled in a unit in the progressive die automatically. Micro forging processes are conducted to improve flatness and surface roughness before and after each forming processes, and then join the micro components together in the same die. As the result, a unit part could be formed as an output of the press forming. A unit-part for a micro pump was fabricated using the system. The results show that the system has a high potential for fabrication of micro devices precisely. The system consists of a desktop servo-press machine, precise foil material feeders, and a progressive die with embedded position monitoring sensor. Precise metal forming processes including micro forging and micro joining was carried out in a progressive die by using the system. We propose a precise forming process that includes pre- and post-treatment for improving dimensional accuracy of workpiece during forming processes.