Patent ID: 8784713

Claim:
A method for manufacturing an article formed of a polymeric material and having at least one of a hydrophobic and a self-cleaning outer surface, the method for manufacturing comprising the steps of: (i) providing an embossing die having an exposed surface portion formed of a metallic material, the metallic material having at least one of a fine-grained microstructure with an average grain size between 2 and 5,000 nm and an amorphous microstructure, a smooth surface of the metallic material being inherently hydrophilic at room temperature, the smooth surface has a surface roughness less than or equal to 0.25 microns; (ii) incorporating surface structures into the exposed surface portion of the embossing die to define a textured surface portion of the embossing die, said textured surface portion rendering the inherently hydrophilic smooth surface of the metallic material at room temperature hydrophobic; and (iii) imprinting at least a portion of the outer surface of the polymeric material of the article directly with the textured surface portion of the embossing die.