Line-on-Line Image Formation Analysis for Inkjet and Digital Fabrication Purposes

Abstract

Many printing systems jet a material in liquid form which is subsequently cured or hardened prior to the next layer being applied. Examples include solid ink and UV curable ink systems and both have practical application in a variety of distinctly different business and industrial areas including printing, industrial fabrication processes and 3D printing. The fundamental building blocks of these devices are the formation and interaction of individual solidified dots and lines. Therefore, in the design and understanding of this technology, it is both essential and routine to evaluate and diagnose performance by studying the coalesced line formation within a jet and also the drop-to-drop and line-to-line formation from pass-to-pass. This paper presents both experimental and numerical results on the physics of liquid/solid inkjet droplet coalesces and dynamics.