Offset Printhead Actuators for Reduced Nozzle Distance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drop-on-demand printheads are limited by the minimum nozzle distance due to the width of the actuators, resulting in droplets being too far apart to form a continuous coating film on components, necessitating the rotation of the printhead to reduce nozzle distance.
Innovation Solution
The printhead design allows for a vertically or horizontally offset arrangement of actuators relative to the nozzle row, enabling a higher linear packing density and reducing the nozzle distance without miniaturizing the actuators, by positioning them in different planes or at different distances along the nozzle row.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If actuators are arranged in a linear row parallel to the nozzle row, then each actuator can control one nozzle, but the nozzle distance becomes larger than the actuator width, preventing continuous coating film formation
Solution Approach 1:
The actuators are arranged in multiple planes perpendicular to the nozzle row, transitioning from a single-dimensional linear arrangement to a multi-dimensional spatial configuration. This allows the projection of actuators onto the nozzle row to overlap, enabling the nozzle distance to be smaller than the actuator width while maintaining one-to-one control correspondence.
2Manufacturing precision
If the printhead is rotated to reduce nozzle distance perpendicular to the paint path, then droplets form a continuous coating film, but the printhead structure becomes more complex and requires additional rotation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of rotating the entire printhead to achieve reduced nozzle distance, the invention redistributes actuators in the vertical dimension (perpendicular to the nozzle row), allowing the nozzle plate to remain in a fixed orientation while achieving the same effect of reduced effective nozzle distance through spatial rearrangement of control elements.
3Manufacturing precision
If actuator width is reduced to decrease nozzle distance, then nozzle spacing improves, but actuator miniaturization increases manufacturing difficulty and reduces reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention resolves the contradiction by utilizing the vertical dimension to separate actuator physical locations while maintaining their functional correspondence to nozzles. This allows standard-sized actuators to be arranged such that their projections overlap on the nozzle row, achieving small nozzle distance without miniaturizing the actuators themselves.
4Area of stationary object
If multiple actuators are arranged in the same plane, then the actuator row width increases, but if arranged in multiple planes, the vertical space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions the actuator arrangement from a single-plane (2D) configuration to a multi-plane (3D) configuration, distributing actuators across different vertical levels. This spatial redistribution allows the actuators to be compact in the horizontal direction while utilizing the vertical dimension to accommodate multiple actuator positions without excessive width expansion.
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 configuration allows for a significant reduction in nozzle distance between adjacent nozzles, enabling the formation of a continuous coating film without the need for printhead rotation, thereby improving the coating efficiency and density.
Implementation Method 1
The well-known drop-on-demand printheads have actuators 9-11 for opening and closing the nozzles 2-4, which can be designed as electromagnetic actuators, for example
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure concerns an applicator (e.g. printhead) for applying a coating agent (e.g. paint) to a component (e.g. motor vehicle body component), having at least one nozzle row with a plurality of nozzles for dispensing the coating agent in the form of a jet in each case, the nozzles being arranged along the nozzle row and in a common nozzle plane, and having a plurality of actuators for controlled release or closure of the nozzles. The disclosure provides that the individual actuators each have an outer dimension along the nozzle row which is greater than a nozzle distance along the nozzle row.