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Xerox Scientist Describes Experiments to Optimize Printheads for Solid Ink Printers
LONG
BEACH, Calif., JUNE, 2006 — Xerox Corporation’s next generation of
solid ink printheads is being designed through a “rapid prototyping”
process that will speed development, increase product quality and may
yield useful information for other industries that need to control the
behavior of fluids on a micro scale, according to a Xerox scientist.In
a talk being given here today at PhAST 2006, John Andrews, a principal
scientist in Xerox’s Wilson Center for Research and Technology in
Webster, N.Y., will discuss “Laser Rapid Prototyping for Designed
Experiments in Microfluidics.” The annual conference, sponsored by the
Optical Society of America, presents the latest breakthroughs in laser
applications, systems and technologies.Andrews is reporting on
experiments in which he systematically varied the size and shape of a
printhead nozzle – with an opening one-tenth the diameter of a human
hair – and other parts of the fluid delivery structure in order to
optimize the placement of ink droplets that the printhead squirts onto
paper to form images. He used rapid prototyping, a process that
integrates Xerox’s modeling and simulation expertise with laser
micromachining, to produce functioning printheads having desirable
performance characteristics.That reduced the time required to produce
the prototype devices to a matter of hours or days compared with as
much as two months if done by conventional methods.Andrews used a laser
to micromachine – or drill – a number of inkjet nozzles, each with a
slightly different shape. By testing the droplet shapes resulting from
the various openings, he found that he could use the nozzle plate
thickness and the shape of the nozzle’s barrel to predict how fast the
droplet would travel.The results from the experiments will enable
systems engineers to pick a nozzle design that produces the performance
characteristics desired for the system they are planning. In addition
to inkjet printers, other applications where a liquid must be forced
through a tiny opening include spraying materials for biological
analyses and DNA testing, testing for the presence of chemical agents,
shooting droplets of solder to bond chips to a circuit board, and
constructing three-dimensional wax parts models by “printing”
them.”Nozzle properties are important,” Andrews concludes, “because the
nozzle is the last interface between the liquid pool and the air.
Nozzle shape controls the speed and direction at which the drop travels
as well as its size.”Andrews’ research using laser micromachining for
rapid prototyping will lead to faster development of next-generation
solid ink printheads at lower cost. Introduced more than 15 years ago,
Xerox’s exclusive solid ink technology is an affordable option for
businesses looking to add color to their documents and has become a
competitive force in the industry. Solid ink creates brilliant prints
on a wide range of media, is easy to use and produces 90 percent less
waste than laser printing.Rapid prototyping one of the reasons Xerox is
able to quickly bring to market new marking systems that are smarter,
smaller, simpler and speedier.Xerox Corporation conducts work in color
science, computing, digital imaging, work practices, electromechanical
systems, novel materials, and other disciplines connected to Xerox’s
expertise in printing and document management. The company consistently
builds its inventions into business by embedding them in Xerox products
and solutions, using them as the foundation for new business, or
licensing or selling them to other entities.
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