Growing a patterned array of double-anchored elastomeric microwires using lost-wax casting

We propose and demonstrate a new, lost-wax casting-based technique for fabricating elastomeric microwires that are anchored to external supporting structures at both ends monolithically. The technique will grow the microwires, allowing them aligned in the out-of-plane, surface-normal direction and facilitating the formation of patterned arrays. With the new technique, we fabricated PDMS microwires with diameter ranging 150~250 μm which withstood >;400% elongations and >;70 mN of pulling force with little degradation in surface smoothness. Optical characterization also revealed that the PDMS microwires can function as elastic lightpipes optically connecting two points in miniaturized systems.