Subdivision surfaces for procedural design of imprint rolls

Abstract

We discuss the use of subdivision surfaces in the procedural design of imprint rolls for use in the roller imprinting process. Roller imprinting is being developed for the fabrication of microfluidic devices in polymer substrates. Imprint rolls are modeled using Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces, and are procedurally designed based on feedback from finite-element simulations of the imprinting process. Microfluidic devices exhibit repeating patterns, and can be modeled using a small set of unique entities (or tiles). Imprint rolls are also modeled as a sum of tiles, and rolls are designed by studying the imprinting behavior of clusters of tiles corresponding to the repeating patterns seen in the device. This approach reduces the roll complexity and analysis time. The rolls need to be described in a sufficiently flexible format for the tile-based analysis to be effective. Conventional model representations are too cumbersome for piecewise iterative refinement as they require the manipulation of a large number of variables to modify surface features while preserving continuity. Subdivision surfaces, on the other hand, are naturally continuous and can be modified by manipulating a small number of variables. The ability to apply rule-based, arbitrary refinement on subdivision surfaces makes them especially suitable. The procedural modeling methodology and the subdivision design representation enable the integrated design, analysis, and manufacturing of imprint rolls, and has proven effective in decreasing the design-to-manufacture time of novel microfluidic technology.