Development of a new apparatus for ultrasonic vibration-assisted glass hot embossing process

A new apparatus for an ultrasonic vibration-assisted glass hot embossing process has been developed. The upper die constitutes the ultrasonic vibrating device, and a cooler is provided to protect the transducer from the high operating temperatures. An ultrasonic horn originally designed for use at room temperature was modified to ensure correct operation of ultrasonic vibrating device for high temperature use. Because the load cell is located inside a vacuum chamber, the detection of the force applied to the glass during the forming process is not significantly impacted by external forces, and thus, a precise force history of the forming glass can be obtained. Flat hot embossing experiments were performed to investigate the effect of ultrasonic vibration on the amount of force required during forming, and Fresnel structure hot embossing experiments were then conducted to investigate the improvement in molding accuracy gained through ultrasonic vibration. The experimental results are taken to validate the manufacturing potential of the developed apparatus and the improvement in formability achieved by applying ultrasonic vibration.