Rapid microfeature forming system

A method of forming microfeatures in a chip, the method comprising:

• positioning a thermoplastic sheet within a recess of a first half of a microfeature mold comprising a three-dimensional printed thermally stable photopolymer, the thermoplastic sheet comprising a material that softens at a glass transition temperature;
• aligning a cavity alignment feature of the first half of the microfeature mold with a core alignment feature of a second half of the microfeature mold;
• compressing, via a compression apparatus, the thermoplastic sheet between the first half of the microfeature mold and the second half of the microfeature mold, such that a microfeature pattern of the second half of the microfeature mold is imprinted on the thermoplastic sheet, the microfeature pattern comprising one or more of proud and recessed microfeatures;
• and
• heating one or more of the first half of the microfeature mold and the second half of the microfeature mold to, at least, the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic sheet, such that the compressed thermoplastic sheet flows within the microfeature pattern.

A three-dimensional printing method of forming a microfeature mold, the method comprising:

• lowering a build platform into a resin tank containing a liquid photopolymer resin, such that the liquid photopolymer resin fills a predetermined gap between a transparent bottom plate of the resin tank and the build platform;
• emitting a light from an optical curing source below the transparent bottom plate in a first pattern based on a predetermined design to cure the liquid photopolymer resin and form a first layer of the microfeature mold, the first layer comprising a thermally stable photopolymer;
• raising the build platform with respect to the transparent bottom plate, such that the liquid photopolymer resin fills a gap between the transparent bottom plate and the first layer of the microfeature mold;
• emitting the light from the optical curing source in a second pattern based on the predetermined design to cure the liquid photopolymer resin to and form a second layer of the microfeature mold, the second layer comprising the thermally stable photopolymer;
• and
• repeating the raising and emitting steps until the microfeature mold is fully formed.