PDMS automatic pouring device

Abstract

The utility model provides a kind of PDMS automatic casting device, including device main body, the top surface of device main body is formed with a containing cavity, the platform that can be driven rotation is arranged in the containing cavity, the platform is used to place mould, the top surface of device main body is also equipped with pouring assembly, the pouring assembly includes material bin frame and the material bin for holding PDMS, the material bin is fixedly connected on the material bin frame, and the material bin frame can be driven to move close to or away from the platform, and the material output pipe that the material bin has can be controlled on-off.This utility model pours PDMS in automatic mode, effectively solves the problem of low efficiency of manual operation, inconsistent PDMS products in the prior art.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of microfluidic chip manufacturing technology, specifically relating to an automatic PDMS casting device. Background Technology

[0002] PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) consists of a base component and a curing agent. In use, the base component and curing agent are mixed in a specific ratio, then heated and cured to form a tough elastomer. PDMS is widely used in electronic and electrical packaging and filling, as well as in the fabrication of microfluidic chips.

[0003] PDMS can be used to replicate and transfer structures on molds. Prepared PDMS is poured into a mold, and then heated to obtain the PDMS product. However, the current method of manually pouring PDMS is inefficient; furthermore, manual operation can affect the consistency of the PDMS product, thus impacting its usability.

[0004] Therefore, an automatic PDMS casting device is needed to automate the PDMS casting process. Utility Model Content

[0005] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide an automatic PDMS casting device that can realize the automatic casting of PDMS materials and improve the manufacturing efficiency and consistency of PDMS products.

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, this utility model provides an automatic PDMS casting device, comprising a device body, a receiving cavity formed on the top surface of the device body, a platform capable of being driven to rotate within the receiving cavity, the platform being used to place a mold, and a casting assembly also provided on the top surface of the device body, the casting assembly including a material hopper frame and a material hopper for holding PDMS, the material hopper being fixedly connected to the material hopper frame, and the material hopper frame being capable of being driven to move closer to or away from the platform, and the material output pipe of the material hopper being controllably on and off.

[0007] In some embodiments, the top surface of the main body of the device is provided with a guide rail and a transverse drive assembly, the material hopper frame is slidably connected to the guide rail, and the transverse drive assembly is used to drive the material hopper frame to reciprocate linearly along the guiding direction of the guide rail.

[0008] In some embodiments, an electromagnetic on / off valve is provided inside the material output pipe.

[0009] In some embodiments, a vacuum adsorption hole is formed on the top surface of the platform, and the vacuum adsorption hole is controllably connected to a vacuum component.

[0010] In some embodiments, a sealing cover is also provided on the top surface of the main body of the device. The sealing cover has a closed state that seals the top opening of the accommodating cavity and an open state that opens the top opening of the accommodating cavity. The sealing cover can be driven to switch between the closed state and the open state.

[0011] In some embodiments, the sealing cap has a vacuum suction hole that is controllably connected to the vacuum component.

[0012] In some embodiments, a waste liquid tank is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the bottom wall of the accommodating cavity.

[0013] In some embodiments, the main body of the device is provided with a rotary motor, the rotating shaft of which extends into the accommodating cavity from the bottom wall of the accommodating cavity, and the platform is connected to the free end of the rotating shaft.

[0014] In some embodiments, the platform is also equipped with a heating device.

[0015] This utility model provides an automatic PDMS pouring device. The material bin containing PDMS material can be driven to move closer to or away from the platform, thereby achieving automatic alignment between the material bin and the mold on the platform. At the same time, the material output pipe of the material bin can be controlled to open and close, thus realizing automatic pouring of PDMS into the mold. The platform can be driven to rotate, thereby realizing the automated spin coating of the PDMS poured into the mold. It can be seen that the automatic PDMS pouring device of this utility model performs PDMS pouring in an automatic manner, effectively solving the problems of low efficiency of manual operation and inconsistent PDMS products in the prior art. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the PDMS automatic pouring device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the PDMS automatic pouring device according to an embodiment of the present invention during the pouring of PDMS;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the PDMS automatic pouring device during vacuuming and heating curing according to an embodiment of this utility model.

[0019] The reference numerals in the attached figures are as follows:

[0020] 1. Main body of the device; 2. Platform; 3. Vacuum adsorption port; 4. Rotary shaft; 5. Waste liquid tank; 6. Sealing cover; 7. Vacuum suction port; 8. Material bin; 9. Material bin frame; 10. Guide rail; 11. Mold. Detailed Implementation

[0021] See Figures 1 to 3 As shown in the figure, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic PDMS casting device is provided, including a device body 1. A receiving cavity (not labeled in the figure) is formed on the top surface of the device body 1. A platform 2 that can be driven to rotate is provided in the receiving cavity. A mold 11 is placed on the platform 2. The specific structure of the mold 11 matches the structure of the PDMS product. That is, for different PDMS products, the corresponding mold 11 can be placed on the platform 2. A casting assembly (not labeled in the figure) is also provided on the top surface of the device body 1. The casting assembly includes a material hopper rack 9 and a material hopper 8 for holding PDMS. In specific use, PDMS material that meets the requirements should be prepared in advance and placed in the material hopper 8. The material hopper 8 is fixedly connected to the material hopper rack 9, and the material hopper rack 9 can be driven to move closer to or away from the platform 2. The material output pipe (not labeled in the figure) of the material hopper 8 can be controlled to be switched on and off.

[0022] In this technical solution, the material bin 8 containing PDMS material can be driven to move closer to or further away from the platform 2, thereby achieving automatic alignment between the material bin 8 and the mold 11 on the platform 2. Simultaneously, the material output pipe of the material bin 8 can be controllably opened and closed, thus realizing automatic PDMS pouring into the mold 11. The platform 2 can be driven to rotate, achieving automated spin coating of the PDMS poured into the mold 11. Therefore, the automatic PDMS pouring device of this invention performs PDMS pouring automatically, effectively solving the problems of low efficiency and inconsistent PDMS products in existing technologies. In other words, using the technology of this invention, the entire PDMS pouring process is completed automatically, making pouring more efficient and resulting in PDMS products with good consistency.

[0023] In some embodiments, the top surface of the main body 1 of the device is provided with a guide rail 10 and a transverse drive assembly (not shown in the figure). The material hopper frame 9 is slidably connected to the guide rail 10. The transverse drive assembly is used to drive the material hopper frame 9 to reciprocate linearly along the guiding direction of the guide rail 10. That is, the guide rail 10 serves as a guide component for the transverse movement of the casting assembly, so as to achieve precise control of the relative position of the material hopper 8 and the mold 11 (i.e., the platform 2). The aforementioned transverse drive assembly can be implemented using a lead screw linear module or a linear motor module in the prior art. As mature prior art, this utility model does not protect its specific structural configuration, and will not elaborate on it here.

[0024] In one specific embodiment, an electromagnetic on / off valve (not shown in the figure) is provided in the material output pipe. By providing an electromagnetic on / off valve in the material output pipe, precise control of the material output can be achieved.

[0025] In some embodiments, a vacuum adsorption hole 3 is formed on the top surface of the platform 2. The vacuum adsorption hole 3 is controllably connected to a vacuum component (not shown in the figure). The aforementioned vacuum component can be part of the device of this utility model. Of course, it can also be a component independent of the device of this utility model. For example, the aforementioned vacuum component can be a vacuum pump.

[0026] In this technical solution, a vacuum adsorption hole 3 is provided on the top surface of the platform 2. This can prevent the mold 11 from being reliably positioned on the platform 2 by controlling the operation of the vacuum component to generate a vacuum adsorption force. This prevents the mold 11 from falling off the platform 2 during rotation. It is understood that after the casting and PDMS product preparation are completed, the vacuum component is controlled to stop operating so that the mold 11 can be removed from the platform 2.

[0027] In some embodiments, a sealing cover 6 is further provided on the top surface of the device body 1, the sealing cover 6 having a closed state that seals the top opening of the accommodating cavity (e.g., Figure 3 The state shown) and the open state of the top opening of the accommodating cavity (as shown). Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the sealing cover 6 can be driven to switch between the closed state and the open state. Specifically, the sealing cover 6 can be equipped with a separate drive motor (not shown in the figure) to realize the automatic switching of the opening and closing state of the sealing cover 6.

[0028] In this technical solution, after the sealing cap 6 pours PDMS into the mold 11 from the material hopper 8 and spin-coates it, it seals the cavity to ensure a closed environment for subsequent curing processes during the preparation process.

[0029] As a preferred embodiment, the sealing cap 6 has a vacuum suction hole 7, which is controllably connected to the vacuum component, thereby ensuring the vacuum environment of the accommodating cavity during the preparation of PDMS products, avoiding the problem of air bubbles during casting, and enabling the structure on the mold 11 to be completely replicated and transferred.

[0030] In some embodiments, a waste liquid tank 5 is provided on the outer periphery of the bottom wall of the accommodating cavity, so that the waste PDMS generated by spin coating will flow down along the side wall of the accommodating cavity and eventually be collected in the waste liquid tank 5.

[0031] As a specific embodiment, the main body 1 of the device is equipped with a rotary motor (not shown in the figure, but indicated by reference). The rotating shaft 4 of the rotary motor extends into the accommodating cavity from the bottom wall of the accommodating cavity, and the platform 2 is connected to the free end of the rotating shaft 4. The rotary motor drives the platform 2 to rotate, thereby realizing the spin coating of PDMS. It can have high speed control accuracy, resulting in good flatness of the upper surface of PDMS, eliminating the need for subsequent surface trimming.

[0032] In some embodiments, the platform 2 is further provided with a heating device (not shown in the figure) to heat the mold 11, ensuring that the PDMS is prepared at a suitable temperature for product curing. The aforementioned heating device may be, for example, a coiled resistance wire or a flat heating film (e.g., a graphene heating film) embedded in the platform 2.

[0033] In use, mold 11 is placed on platform 2 and fixed to platform 2 by vacuum suction hole 3. The prepared PDMS is added to material hopper 8, and then material hopper rack 9 is controlled to move along guide rail 10, so that material hopper 8 is moved synchronously to directly above mold 11. Then, the switch on material hopper 8 (i.e., the aforementioned electromagnetic on / off valve) is opened, and a certain amount of PDMS is dripped onto mold 11. Then the switch is closed, and material hopper 8 moves back to the left side with material hopper rack 9. Platform 2 starts to rotate with rotating shaft 4 to perform spin coating. Waste PDMS generated by spin coating will flow down along the side wall of the cavity and eventually be collected in waste liquid tank 5. After spin coating is completed, sealing cap 6 covers the top cavity opening of the cavity to form a sealed environment. There is vacuum suction hole 7 on sealing cap 6 to keep the entire cavity in a vacuum environment. Then the heating device on platform 2 is started to gradually complete the curing of PDMS, and finally the PDMS product is obtained.

[0034] It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the aforementioned advantageous methods can be freely combined and superimposed without conflict.

[0035] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this utility model and are not intended to limit the scope of this utility model. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model. The above are only preferred embodiments of this utility model. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the technical principles of this utility model, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. An automatic PDMS pouring device, characterized in that, The device includes a main body (1), on the top surface of which a receiving cavity is formed. A platform (2) capable of being driven to rotate is provided in the receiving cavity. A mold (11) is placed on the platform (2). A casting assembly is also provided on the top surface of the main body (1). The casting assembly includes a material hopper frame (9) and a material hopper (8) for holding PDMS. The material hopper (8) is fixedly connected to the material hopper frame (9), and the material hopper frame (9) can be driven to move closer to or away from the platform (2). The material output pipe of the material hopper (8) can be controlled to be switched on and off.

2. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top surface of the main body (1) of the device is provided with a guide rail (10) and a transverse drive assembly. The material silo frame (9) is slidably connected to the guide rail (10). The transverse drive assembly is used to drive the material silo frame (9) to reciprocate linearly along the guiding direction of the guide rail (10).

3. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material output pipe is equipped with an electromagnetic on / off valve.

4. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A vacuum adsorption hole (3) is formed on the top surface of the platform (2), and the vacuum adsorption hole (3) is controllably connected to the vacuum component.

5. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The top surface of the main body (1) of the device is also provided with a sealing cover (6). The sealing cover (6) has a closed state that seals the top opening of the accommodating cavity and an open state that opens the top opening of the accommodating cavity. The sealing cover (6) can be driven to switch between the closed state and the open state.

6. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The sealing cover (6) has a vacuum suction hole (7), which is controllably connected to the vacuum component.

7. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer periphery of the bottom wall of the accommodating cavity is provided with a waste liquid tank (5).

8. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main body (1) of the device is equipped with a rotary motor. The rotating shaft (4) of the rotary motor extends into the cavity from the bottom wall of the cavity and the platform (2) is connected to the free end of the rotating shaft (4).

9. The PDMS automatic pouring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The platform (2) is also equipped with a heating device.

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