Ultrasonic Injection moulding has emerged as an alternative production route for miniature and microscale polymeric components, where it offers some significant benefits over conventional microinjection processes. The primary advantage is the fact that heating is only performed on the volume of feedstock required for the product, so degradation problems due to extended residence time in the screw can be avoided, and the total energy required for heating is significantly lower. In addition, the ultrasonic energy can be sustained during the filling stage in the process which appears to significantly reduce the pressure requirement for cavity filling whilst simultaneously providing the ability to add heat after cavity filling, allowing molecular chain relaxation and reduced residual stresses.

　　Here we use a novel injection mould tool which allows the comparison of conventional and ultrasonic moulding techniques. The tool allows direct viewing of the mould cavity using high speed conventional and infrared imaging which allows direct measurement of the flow rate and thermal consistency of the polymer melt. A microscale tensile test cavity in the tool has adjustable thickness and has been used to investigate the morphology development in polyolefins and using Differntial Scanning Calorimetry and SAXS/WAXS. The resulting mechanical property behaviour has been investigated using small scale mechanical testing apparatus.