Effects of Miniaturization on the Quality of Metallized Plastic Parts

The metallization of plastics is an important industrial process. Plastics are metallized for both aesthetic and functional purposes. The unceasing pursuit towards the miniaturization and reduction in the part’s size challenges the already complicated process of metallization. A rigorous research study uncovering the effects of miniaturization on the quality of metallized parts is missing at the state-of-the-art level. This study focuses on the quality of the deposited metal film based on geometrical dimensions and systematically characterizes the effects of miniaturization on the metallized micro-components. The experimental results presented in this paper reveal the hidden synergy among the metallization quality, part dimension, and process conditions used both for substrate fabrication and for metallization. The paper broadens the fundamental understanding about the interactions of various design, materials, and process parameters involved in the manufacturing process chain. The results and discussions presented in this paper will be valuable sources of information to deal with the integration of micrometallic structures on polymeric substrates for high precision applications.