Digital Pad Printing with Stationary Substrate and Integrated Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital pad printing systems have complex mechanical structures and stability issues due to ink residue accumulation on the release substrate, leading to reduced printing quality and increased production failures, and require additional cleaning steps that slow down the printing process.
Innovation Solution
A digital pad printing method where the release substrate maintains orientation throughout the process, with integrated cleaning devices for both the substrate and pad, allowing for simultaneous cleaning and ink motif transfer, thereby reducing process interruptions and ensuring high-quality prints at increased speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a conventional digital pad printing system uses a dispensing substrate that changes orientation during printing, then the mechanical structure can be more compact, but the device complexity increases due to requiring conveying devices to arrange the substrate on different printing levels
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the substrate orientation during printing as in conventional systems, the patent inverts the approach by maintaining constant substrate orientation and allowing the printing devices to move relative to the substrate. This eliminates the need for complex conveying devices while achieving compactness through movable printing units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by making the printing devices (digital printer and pad printing device) movable relative to the stationary dispensing substrate. This dynamic configuration allows the system to achieve compact arrangement without requiring complex substrate conveying mechanisms, as the printing units can be positioned and moved as needed.
2Reliability
If additional cleaning steps are added to remove ink residue from the dispensing substrate, then printing quality and reliability improve, but the productivity decreases due to process interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing a cleaning device that cleans the dispensing substrate before the ink motif is printed on it. This preventive cleaning approach ensures the substrate is ready for high-quality printing without requiring interruptions during the printing process, thus maintaining both reliability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuity of useful action by integrating the cleaning function into the overall printing process flow without causing process interruptions. The cleaning device operates in a manner that maintains continuous printing production, eliminating the trade-off between cleaning quality and printing speed.
3Manufacturing precision
If the dispensing substrate is cleaned after each printing cycle, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but the loss of time increases due to additional cleaning steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by cleaning the dispensing substrate before printing rather than after. This timing strategy ensures manufacturing precision is maintained while avoiding time loss during or after the printing cycle, as the substrate is prepared in advance for the next print motif.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action by cleaning the dispensing substrate at regular intervals or before each printing cycle in a systematic manner. This periodic cleaning schedule maintains print motif quality while optimizing the timing to minimize overall process time and avoid interruptions during active printing.
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 approach simplifies the printing device structure, maintains high process stability and quality, and significantly increases printing speed by eliminating additional cleaning steps and ensuring a clean surface for each new ink motif, resulting in consistent high-quality prints.
Implementation Method 1
An inkjet printer, having multiple printheads, dispenses ink from its nozzles onto the ink-receptive surface of the dispensing substrate to print a design
Implementation Method 2
The printed ink design is picked up from the dispensing substrate by a transfer pad and transferred to a printable object via pressure contact
Implementation Method 3
integrated cleaning devices for both the substrate and pad, allowing for simultaneous cleaning and ink motif transfer
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The method involves arranging a planar delivery substrate (108) into an effective range of an inkjet printer (100). An ink pattern (112) is printed on the delivery substrate by using inkjet printer. The printed delivery substrate is arranged into the effective range of a tampon (118). The ink pattern is transferred on the tampon. The cleaning operation of delivery substrate and transfer operation of ink pattern from the tampon are partially overlapped on workpiece (142) within a printing cycle. The cleaning operation of tampon is carried out with a tampon cleaning apparatus (148).