Picosecond Laser Surface Texturing of a Stavax Steel Substrate for Wettability Control

In this investigation,a picosecond laser was employed to fabricate surface textures on a Stavax steel substrate,which is a key material for mold fabrication in the manufacturing of various polymer products.Three main types of surface textures were fabricated on a Stavax steel substrate:periodic ripples,a two-scale hierarchical two-dimensional array of micro-bumps,and a micro-pits array with nanoripples.The wettability of the laser-textured Stavax steel surface was converted from its original hydrophilicity into hydrophobicity and even super-hydrophobicity after exposure to air.The results clearly show that this super-hydrophobicity is mainly due to the surface textures.The ultrafast laserinduced catalytic effect may play a secondary role in modifying the surface chemistry so as to lower the surface energy.The laser-induced surface textures on the metal mold substrates were then replicated onto polypropylene substrates via the polymer injection molding process.The surface wettability of the molded polypropylene was found to be changed from the original hydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity.This developed process holds the potential to improve the performance of fabricated plastic products in terms of wettability control and easy cleaning.

具有高韧性高抗裂性的不锈模具钢

通过对AISI 420电渣钢失效机理的研冗，由Bohler-Uddeholm North America．Rolling Meadows，I11开发了更佳的钢种Stavax Supreme。这个新钢种能够解决大型塑料模具钢在切削加工过程中存在的韧性和开裂问题。