Back to articles
Articles
Volume: 27 | Article ID: art00019_1
Image
Jetting, In-Nozzle Meniscus Motion and Nozzle-Plate Flooding in an Industrial Drop-on-Demand Print Head
Wen-Kai Hsiao
Stephen D Hoath
Graham D Martin
Ian M Hutchings
  DOI :  10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2011.27.1.art00019_1  Published Online :  January 2011
Abstract

The state of the ink film at and near the nozzles of a drop-on-demand (DoD) print head during jetting has a direct impact on printing performance and reliability. We have developed high-speed imaging apparatus and analytical techniques to investigate the ink film dynamics on an industrial print head nozzle-plate in real-time. In addition to a direct correlation between the jet emergence velocity and drive voltage, drive-dependent variations in the oscillation of the ink meniscus in adjacent nozzles were also observed. Using a ray-tracing model to analyze the meniscus shape, the meniscus oscillations for both printing and non-printing nozzles were found to be complex and involve elements such as pre-oscillation and high-order surface waves. The flooding of non-firing nozzles, deliberately caused by the application of maximum drive voltage to a neighboring nozzle, has been recorded and analyzed dynamically. The build-up of fluid in an annulus around the nozzle (flooding rate) has been characterized and compared with models for the net ink flow through the nozzle.

Journal Title : NIP & Digital Fabrication Conference
Publisher Name : Society of Imaging Science and Technology
Publisher Location : 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, VA 22151, USA
Subject Areas :
Views 21
Downloads 8
 DOI 10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2011.27.1.art00019_1
 articleview.views 21
 articleview.downloads 8
  Cite this article 

Wen-Kai Hsiao, Stephen D Hoath, Graham D Martin, Ian M Hutchings, "Jetting, In-Nozzle Meniscus Motion and Nozzle-Plate Flooding in an Industrial Drop-on-Demand Print Head"  in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies and Digital Fabrication (NIP27),  2011,  pp 66 - 69,  https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2011.27.1.art00019_1

 Copy citation
  Copyright statement 
Copyright © Society for Imaging Science and Technology 2011
72010410
NIP & Digital Fabrication Conference
nip digi fabric conf
2169-4451
Society of Imaging Science and Technology
7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, VA 22151, USA
2169-4451(20110101)2011:1L.66;1-
nip_v2011n1/splitsection19.xml
/ist/nipdf/2011/00002011/00000001/art00019
Articles
Jetting, In-Nozzle Meniscus Motion and Nozzle-Plate Flooding in an Industrial Drop-on-Demand Print Head
HsiaoWen-Kai
HoathStephen D
MartinGraham D
HutchingsIan M
01012011
2011
1
66
69
2011
The state of the ink film at and near the nozzles of a drop-on-demand (DoD) print head during jetting has a direct impact on printing performance and reliability. We have developed high-speed imaging apparatus and analytical techniques to investigate the ink film dynamics on an industrial print head nozzle-plate in real-time. In addition to a direct correlation between the jet emergence velocity and drive voltage, drive-dependent variations in the oscillation of the ink meniscus in adjacent nozzles were also observed. Using a ray-tracing model to analyze the meniscus shape, the meniscus oscillations for both printing and non-printing nozzles were found to be complex and involve elements such as pre-oscillation and high-order surface waves. The flooding of non-firing nozzles, deliberately caused by the application of maximum drive voltage to a neighboring nozzle, has been recorded and analyzed dynamically. The build-up of fluid in an annulus around the nozzle (flooding rate) has been characterized and compared with models for the net ink flow through the nozzle.