Height-Adjustable Print Head Substrate Height Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing systems face challenges in maintaining optimal print quality due to temporary substrate height abnormalities caused by environmental conditions, leading to unnecessary substrate wastage and non-optimal print head adjustments.
Innovation Solution
The method involves discarding the print substrate when an abnormal height condition is detected and only adjusting the print head height after multiple occurrences, ensuring optimal print quality without excessive waste by using a sensor to monitor and adjust the print head height based on predetermined criteria.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the print head height is adjusted to accommodate abnormal substrate height, then collision avoidance is achieved, but print quality deteriorates due to increased gap
Solution Approach 1:
The print head height is made dynamically adjustable based on real-time substrate height measurements. The system transitions from a static fixed height configuration to a dynamic adaptive configuration, allowing the print head to move closer to substrates with abnormal height while maintaining optimal gap for normal substrates, thus resolving the contradiction between collision avoidance and print quality
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter (print head height) based on the detected substrate condition. When a substrate is detected to have abnormal height, the print head height parameter is adjusted accordingly; otherwise, it maintains the optimal setting for high-quality printing, thereby resolving the contradiction adaptively
2Adaptability or versatility
If the print head height is adjusted frequently to accommodate substrate variations, then adaptability improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuously adjusting the print head height for every substrate, the system applies height adjustment only locally to specific substrates that are detected to have abnormal height. The majority of substrates receive the standard optimal height setting, minimizing unnecessary adjustments and reducing system complexity while maintaining adaptability for abnormal cases
3Productivity
If substrates with abnormal height are processed by adjusting print head, then productivity is maintained, but print quality suffers due to unnecessary large gap
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments substrates into two categories: normal substrates processed with optimal fixed print head height for high quality, and abnormal substrates processed with adjusted print head height to prevent collision. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high productivity by quickly identifying and categorizing substrates while applying the appropriate processing mode to each, avoiding unnecessary quality degradation
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of printing with a printing system comprising: - a print surface (18a); - a feed mechanism (42) arranged for feeding a print substrate (60) onto the print surface; - a sensor (62) capable of detecting a height of an image receiving surface of the print substrate (60) relative to the print surface (18a); and - a print head (54) disposed above the print surface (18a) for forming an image on the image receiving surface, the print head being adjustable in height relative to the print surface, characterized in that the following steps are performed at least at a start of a print run: a) if the height detected by the sensor (62) is within a predetermined range, discarding the print substrate and feeding a new print substrate; and b) changing the height of the print head (54) only on condition that an event in which a print substrate has been discarded in step (a) has occurred at least twice.