In this research project, ImageXpert attempts to combine drop visualization with a methodology for waveform creation into an automated process for designing and optimizing waveforms. Waveforms are an essential, but often mysterious, aspect of inkjet printing that controls the performance of the system. It is important to understand how waveforms work in order to properly design them. In piezoelectric printheads, the waveform is an electrical signal that is applied to the piezoelectric materials, causing them to deform. This deformation, when done with proper rhythm, is the driving force behind the nozzles of the printhead filling and jetting ink. Getting the proper rhythm of ink in the nozzle to ensure consistent, stable jetting is the goal when optimizing a waveform. The waveform optimization methodology that was used was optimization of the pulse width, then voltage, then pulse spacing while monitoring behavior over a range of frequencies. Using commercially-available systems along with custom scripting, a process for fully automating this optimization was developed. It works by specifying a range for each parameter and automatically sweeping through that range, while capturing images and data at each value. Using this technique, a waveform can be developed or optimized using automation in a fraction of the time spent doing it manually.
Kyle Pucci, "A Novel Process of Automated Waveform Optimization" in Proc. IS&T Printing for Fabrication: Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP34), 2018, pp 99 - 102, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2018.34.99