Printing device and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12397497-B2
Application number	US-202017609313-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 5, 2020
Priority date	May 7, 2019
Publication date	Aug 26, 2025
Grant date	Aug 26, 2025

Abstract

Printing device comprising an ink reservoir that supplies ink to an exit of a nozzle forming an ink drop and comprising also a power supply that creates an electrostatic field which generates an inkjet, said inkjet carrying a net electrostatic charge and being deposited on a substrate for printing a three-dimensional item by means of a continuous fiber, characterized in that the printing device also comprises one or a plurality of electrodes that deflect said inkjet from a default trajectory in a continually controlled manner through modifying the voltage applied to each jet-deflection electrode. The printing method comprises the step of deflecting said inkjet from a default trajectory by continually modifying the electrostatic field generated around the inkjet by one or a plurality of electrodes.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
supplying an ink to a nozzle;
forming an ink drop at an exit of the nozzle;
generating a continuous ink jet from the ink drop, wherein the continuous ink jet carries a net electrostatic charge;
printing a printed item according to a predefined design, wherein the printing comprises:
periodically deflecting the continuous ink jet from a default trajectory by modifying an electrostatic field generated around the continuous ink jet by applying a periodically repeating jet deflection signal to one or more jet deflection electrodes;
collecting the deflected continuous ink jet on a substrate to form a continuous fiber on the substrate;
detecting a width of the printed item; and
controlling a speed of printing to match a speed of collecting the continuous ink jet on the substrate,
wherein the printed item comprises a plurality of repeating motifs connected to one another, wherein each motif is formed by the continuous fiber during a period of the periodically repeating jet deflection signal,
wherein the width of the printed item defines a lateral spread of the plurality of repeating motifs on the substrate,
wherein controlling the speed of printing comprises dynamically adjusting, based on the detected width of the printed item, one or more parameters of the jet deflection signals in a closed loop.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the speed of the printing is selected so that the continuous fiber does not break up or buckle on the substrate.

3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising generating the electrostatic field between the nozzle and the substrate.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the printing comprises periodically deflecting the continuous ink jet while keeping the substrate and the nozzle in a fixed position relative to one another.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein controlling the speed of printing comprises adjusting at least one of an amplitude and a frequency of the periodically repeating jet deflection signal.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the continuous ink jet is deflected with an acceleration between 100 m/s 2 and 500,000 m/s 2 .

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the printing comprises sequentially stacking the continuous fiber for a plurality of layers.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising applying a voltage bias to the one or more jet deflection electrodes, wherein the voltage bias is equal to a voltage that is generated by the electrostatic field at locations of the one or more deflection electrodes in an absence of the one or more jet deflection electrodes.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the ink comprises a polymer solution or a polymer melt.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the continuous fiber has a width ranging from 50 nm to 1000 nm.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is separated from the substrate by a distance between 2 mm and 5 mm.

12. A method, comprising:
generating a continuous ink jet from a nozzle, wherein the continuous ink jet carries a net electrostatic charge;
printing a test motif according to a predefined design, comprising:
periodically deflecting the continuous ink jet from a default trajectory by modifying an electrostatic field generated around the continuous ink jet by applying a first periodically repeating jet deflection signal to one or more jet deflection electrodes;
collecting the deflected continuous ink jet on a substrate to form a first continuous fiber on the substrate,
wherein the test motif is formed by the first continuous fiber during a period of the first periodically repeating jet deflecting signal;

measuring a difference between the test motif and the predefined design, wherein the difference represents a deformation of the test motif relative to the predefined design caused by an asymmetry in the electrostatic field due to the application of the first periodically repeating jet deflection signal to the one or more jet deflection electrodes;
generating a second periodically repeating jet deflection signal by modifying the first periodically repeating jet deflection signal based on the measured difference; and
printing an object according to the predefined design, comprising:
periodically deflecting the continuous ink jet from the default trajectory by modifying the electrostatic field generated around the continuous ink jet by applying the second periodically repeating jet deflection signal to the one or more jet deflection electrodes; and
collecting the deflected continuous ink jet on the substrate to form a second continuous fiber on the substrate,
wherein the object is formed by the second continuous fiber during a period of the second periodically repeating jet deflection signal, wherein the object matches the predefined design.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein both the first continuous fiber and the second continuous fiber have a width ranging from 50 nm to 1000 nm.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the nozzle is separated from the substrate by a distance between 2 mm and 5 mm.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising applying a voltage bias to the one or more jet deflection electrodes, wherein the voltage bias is equal to a voltage that is generated by the electrostatic field at locations of the one or more deflection electrodes in an absence of the one or more jet deflection electrodes.

Assignees

• Univ Rovira I Virgili
• Inst Catalana Recerca Estudis Avancats
• Univ Rovira I Virgili Urv
• Inst Catalana De Recerca I Estudis Avancats Icrea

Inventors

• Liashenko Ievgenii
• Codina Andreu Cabot
• Llompart Joan Rosell

Classifications

• B33Y50/00

  Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B41J2/175

  Ink supply systems {; Circuit parts therefor} · CPC title

• B41J2/095

  electric field-control type · CPC title

• B29C64/393

  for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes · CPC title

• B29C64/209

  Heads; Nozzles · CPC title