Understanding and mitigating process drift in aerosol jet printing
Abstract
Aerosol jet printing offers a versatile, high-resolution prototyping capability for flexible and hybrid electronics. Despite its rapid growth in recent years, persistent problems such as process drift hinder the adoption of this technology in production environments. Here we explore underlying causes of process drift during aerosol jet printing and introduce an engineered solution to improve deposition stability. In this work it is shown that the ink level within the cartridge is a critical factor in determining atomization efficiency, such that the reduction in ink volume resulting from printing itself can induce significant and systematic process drift. By integrating a custom 3D-printed cartridge with an ink recirculation system, ink composition and level within the cartridge are better maintained. This strategy allows extended duration printing with improved stability, as evidenced by 30 h of printing over 5 production runs. This provides an important tool for extending the duration and improving reliability for aerosol jet printing, a key factor for integration in practical manufacturing operations.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program. Harry S. Truman Fellowship
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1601270
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-2020-1360J
Journal ID: ISSN 2058-8585; 683614
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Flexible and Printed Electronics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 5; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2058-8585
- Publisher:
- IOPscience
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; flexible electronics; printed electronics; additive manufacturing; aerosol jet printing
Citation Formats
Tafoya, Rebecca R., and Secor, Ethan B. Understanding and mitigating process drift in aerosol jet printing. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1088/2058-8585/ab6e74.
Tafoya, Rebecca R., & Secor, Ethan B. Understanding and mitigating process drift in aerosol jet printing. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ab6e74
Tafoya, Rebecca R., and Secor, Ethan B. Wed .
"Understanding and mitigating process drift in aerosol jet printing". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ab6e74. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1601270.
@article{osti_1601270,
title = {Understanding and mitigating process drift in aerosol jet printing},
author = {Tafoya, Rebecca R. and Secor, Ethan B.},
abstractNote = {Aerosol jet printing offers a versatile, high-resolution prototyping capability for flexible and hybrid electronics. Despite its rapid growth in recent years, persistent problems such as process drift hinder the adoption of this technology in production environments. Here we explore underlying causes of process drift during aerosol jet printing and introduce an engineered solution to improve deposition stability. In this work it is shown that the ink level within the cartridge is a critical factor in determining atomization efficiency, such that the reduction in ink volume resulting from printing itself can induce significant and systematic process drift. By integrating a custom 3D-printed cartridge with an ink recirculation system, ink composition and level within the cartridge are better maintained. This strategy allows extended duration printing with improved stability, as evidenced by 30 h of printing over 5 production runs. This provides an important tool for extending the duration and improving reliability for aerosol jet printing, a key factor for integration in practical manufacturing operations.},
doi = {10.1088/2058-8585/ab6e74},
journal = {Flexible and Printed Electronics},
number = 1,
volume = 5,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {2}
}
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