Production of metallic high aspect ratio microstructures by microcasting

Microcasting is a competitive process for the production of metallic microparts. The remarkable suitability of this technique especially for extreme aspect ratio microsamples made of metal alloys will be shown. Based on the well known process of investment casting it is possible to produce microstructures by a gold basis alloy called Stabilor G(R) with an aspect ratio of up to 90. Basic investigations on the ability of form filling and flow length show that microcasting can be improved by a increasing of the molding pressure to about 25 bar. Basic results will be presented as well as a testing structure for estimating the quality of the casting process in regard of its suitability for microcasting of high aspect ratio parts.