Influence of laser processing conditions for the manufacture of microchannels on ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene coated with PDMS and PAA

Abstract

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethene (UHMWPE) is employed as a bearing material in a range of applications due to its improved elasticity, compatibility, and impact resistance, processing conditions for a suitable surface texture are necessary. Surface texture processing on microchannels using lasers is always associated with the effect of heat damage on the polymer specimen surface. This study aims to explore the use of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) in the form of liquid gel coatings in order to reduce heat damage to surfaces during the laser processing of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethene (UHMWPE). First, PDMS and PAA were coated on the surface of the UHMWPE material specimen, and then texturing was performed using a laser diode and cleaned using the ultrasonic method. Second, the dimensions and texture profiles of all the samples from this study were measured using a confocal microscope and open source software. In addition, the effect of adding liquid gel on the surface at 150 µm thickness and laser power parameters was determined. The results show that the PDMS and PAA liquid gel layers help regulate the dimensional bulge of the fabricated microchannels at laser powers below 6 watts, compared to those produced without the coating.