Friction measurement in precision glass molding: An experimental study

Understanding the frictional behavior between glass and metals at elevated temperatures is necessary for accurate modeling and simulation of the state of the art applications such as the PGM process, pressing of micro lens arrays, hot embossing, and extrusion or drawing of glass fiber. In this research, the frictional behavior of N-BK7, an oxide glass, at elevated temperatures in contact with polished and coated tungsten carbide (WC) material and under conditions similar to the PGM process has been studied.The experimental results show that the friction coefficient between a polished and coated WC mold and N-BK7, which is a typical material for glass molding, and in conditions similar to those used in the PGM process ramps up to 0.7 and then levels off around 0.6 with a smooth transition, meaning that there is not a specific point to differentiate between static and dynamic friction. The friction coefficient of 0.6 is reported in literature for best fitting in micro lens molding simulation. Moreover, increasing the temperature in the transition regime in the mold/glass interface causes the friction force to increase which is in good agreement with the data published for the friction between soft polymeric material and metal in the transition regime.

Research highlights
► A double-sided shear test method developed to experimentally measure the friction under conditions similar to glass molding.
► Increasing the temperature close to glass transition temperature in the mold/glass interface increases the friction force.
► There is not a sudden change between static and dynamic friction as commonly seen in metals.