Patent ID: 7951319

Claim:
A method for changing the shape of a surface of an article, comprising the steps of: providing a curable liquid polymer precursor; casting the precursor against a first tool assembly having a first surface structure; curing the precursor to form a shape memory polymer substrate having one or more surfaces with a pre-set shape corresponding to the first surface structure, the substrate including a shape memory polymer; removing the substrate from the first tool assembly; deforming at least one of the one or more surfaces of the substrate with a pre-set shape against a second tool assembly having a second surface structure to form a deformed surface on the substrate with a deformed shape corresponding to the second surface structure; wherein the deforming step includes applying heat and pressure to the substrate; wherein at least one of the first surface structure and the second surface structure includes a microstructure; wherein the deformed surface includes a plurality of microstructure wells; disposing a fluid adhesive in the wells and mobilizing the shape memory polymer to shift the deformed surface from the deformed shape to the pre-set shape.