Acoustophoretic Printing Apparatus for Broad Viscosity Ink Ejection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current printing technologies, such as extrusion and inkjet, are limited in their ability to dispense materials with a wide range of physical properties, restricting the types of inks that can be printed due to viscosity and surface tension constraints, making it difficult to eject fluids like water or highly viscous substances like glycerol.
Innovation Solution
The use of an acoustic field generated by an oscillating emitter to drive a second fluid out of a nozzle, decoupling the printing process from the physical properties of the ink, allowing for the ejection of fluids with varying viscosities and temperatures through acoustic forces, which can form a pendant droplet and detach it from the nozzle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If inkjet technology is used to eject fluids, then printing capability is achieved, but the fluid viscosity must be within a narrow range (10 times that of water), preventing ejection of water or highly viscous substances like glycerol
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical pressure wave system (piezoelectric device) with an acoustic field system. The acoustic field, generated by an oscillating emitter, acts on the fluid to enable ejection without relying on high-pressure mechanical waves, thereby allowing a much broader range of viscosities to be printed reliably.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the ejection system by introducing an acoustic field with specific frequency and amplitude characteristics. This allows the system to handle fluids with Z numbers from 0.04 to 1000, representing a massive expansion of the printable material range compared to conventional inkjet technology.
2Adaptability or versatility
If extrusion printing is used to eject highly viscous ink, then viscosity constraints are relaxed, but the pressure required becomes so large that it is not practically possible to eject the ink
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the high-pressure mechanical extrusion system with an acoustic field-based ejection system. The acoustic radiation pressure and acoustic streaming effects enable the ejection of highly viscous fluids without requiring impractically large driving pressures, thus resolving the contradiction between viscosity adaptability and pressure requirements.
3Productivity
If inkjet technology is used, then printing capability is achieved, but severe limitations exist on fluid physical properties, requiring cumbersome ink preparation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the pressure-wave-based inkjet mechanism with an acoustic field mechanism that is less sensitive to fluid physical properties. This substitution eliminates the need for cumbersome ink preparation steps such as photopolymerization, thermal curing, and annealing, thereby maintaining printing capability while significantly reducing preparation complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional printing technologies are used, then printing of common materials is achieved, but materials with extreme physical properties (water, glycerol, biological solutions) cannot be printed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical ejection systems with an acoustic field system that provides precise control over ejection parameters. The acoustic field can be tuned in frequency and amplitude to achieve controlled ejection of materials with extreme physical properties, maintaining manufacturing precision while dramatically expanding material range.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables the controlled ejection of a wide range of fluid volumes and viscosities, spanning several orders of magnitude, allowing for the printing of materials previously inaccessible, including biological solutions and conductive inks, with acoustic forces that are harmless to cells, thus expanding applications in biology and electronics.
Implementation Method 1
an emitter (1), which may be arranged within a first fluid and may be configured to oscillate so that an acoustic field in said first fluid is generated
Implementation Method 2
The use of an acoustic field generated by an oscillating emitter to drive a second fluid out of a nozzle, decoupling the printing process from the physical properties of the ink, allowing for the ejection of fluids with varying viscosities and temperatures through acoustic forces
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention contains a printing apparatus and a method, e.g., for ejecting inks (i.e., pure liquids, mixtures, colloids, etc.) for a very broad range of physical properties (such as viscosity). Acoustic forces 3a may be generated by an emitter 1 and a reflector 2 to detach droplets 10 from a nozzle 6. The ink may be advanced through the nozzle 6 by a standard back pressure system 5. A reflectorless chamber 7 may enhance acoustic forces 8a and the droplets 10 may be ejected at a bottom 9 of said chamber 7, so that droplets 10 may be deposited on any substrate 11.