We have developed new print heads suitable for industrial inkjet applications by combining long experience in industrial inkjet business and novel MEMS technology. Print heads used in industrial inkjet applications are required high precision, high durability and compatibility to a wide range of ink. To meet these requirements, we chose bulk PZT material for an actuator, and Si MEMS technology for processing of ink channels and nozzles. The bulk PZT material has high durability against thermal and mechanical stresses and enables to use an internal heater to raise ink temperature up to 60 degrees Celsius. Si based ink channels and nozzles have high mechanical precision and can achieve high jetting straightness and high uniformity of droplet velocity and droplet size. We have also developed new ink channel dimensions and driving waveforms to achieve small binary droplet size of 3.5 pL and high pump ability of 20 pL at 24 kHz. Our new print heads have already tested in a wide range of applications from sign and display to printed electronics markets.
Kenji Mawatari, Akito Shimomura, Takashi Matsuo, Daisuke Ishibashi, Hideyuki Kobayashi, "Newly Developed MEMS Print Heads for Industrial Inkjet Applications" in Proc. IS&T Printing for Fabrication: Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP34), 2018, pp 127 - 130, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2018.34.127