A system and method for three-dimensionally printing high viscosity materials using electrohydrodynamics is provided. The system uses a relatively low voltage electric field to draw high viscosity polymers (not in solution) from a nozzle to form three-dimensional objects with lines less than 10 microns in width. Pressurized gas at the nozzle outlet can be used to print large size/dimension parts, instead of or in addition to the electric field to draw the polymers from the nozzle.

Disclosed is an induced electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing apparatus including: a nozzle configured to discharge a fed solution to an opposite substrate; a main electrode contactlessly isolated from the solution inside the nozzle by an insulator; and a voltage supplier configured to apply voltage to the main electrode.

Disclosed is an induced electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing apparatus including: a nozzle configured to discharge a fed solution to an opposite substrate; a main electrode contactlessly isolated from the solution inside the nozzle by an insulator; and a voltage supplier configured to apply voltage to the main electrode.

An example printing apparatus is described comprising a wiping element before the print zone, for slipping in contact with a print medium and wiping a printing surface of the print medium. An implementation of a wiping roller for wiping the printing surface of a print medium may comprise a rigid core, a layer of elastic material and a driving pinion. An example method for printing is also described, comprising spreading over a larger print medium area, by wiping, amounts of a substance that may migrate through a print medium and that is present on the printing surface of a print medium, before printing on the print medium.

Disclosed is an electrohydrodynamic printing apparatus including: a nozzle configured to discharge liquid toward a substrate; a voltage applier configured to form an electric field between the nozzle and the substrate; and a laser beam emitter configured to emit a laser beam toward a position to which liquid is discharged on the substrate.

Thus, it is possible to accurately and stably form a microscale deposition structure.

A system may include a controller configured to cause a capacitance probe to subject a material to a first electric signal having a first frequency and determine a first capacitance of the material at the first frequency. The controller is configured to cause the capacitance probe to subject the material to a second electric signal at a second frequency and determine a second capacitance of the material at the second frequency. The material includes at least a first constituent phase and a second constituent phase. The first constituent phase and the second constituent phase have substantially similar dielectric constants at the first frequency and substantially different dielectric constants at the second frequency. The controller is further configured to determine a porosity of the material based on the first capacitance and determine a relative phase composition of the first constituent phase and the second constituent phase based on the second capacitance.

A method of printing a print pattern onto a substrate with a print head comprises a plurality of nozzles, where the print head has a rectangular active print head area which includes all of the nozzles. The active print head area is delimited by four sides defining a primary and a secondary direction. The method comprises i) decomposing the print pattern into a plurality of print pattern segments that have dimensions along the primary and secondary direction which are smaller than the dimensions of the active print head area along the primary and secondary direction; ii) assigning each print pattern segment to exactly one nozzle; iii) causing each nozzle to print the print pattern segment assigned to said nozzle. The print head is moved during printing of each print pattern segment within an area that is smaller than said active print head area.

An electric field generating unit that forms an electric field between a nozzle forming surface of a recording head and a medium support section that faces the nozzle forming surface by applying a voltage to a conductive member includes the conductive member, forms an electric field, and, during borderless recording in which ink is ejected on inside and outside of an edge of a paper sheet, applies an increased voltage in an ink discarded region outside the edge compared to a voltage applied in a recording region other than the ink discarded region.

The present disclosure relates to a method for aligning a plurality of nozzle tips, the method comprising: a first nozzle aligning step of setting a reference position of a first nozzle tip for discharging ink within a working area through an image of a first camera observing the working area above a substrate and a second camera observing the working area in an inclined direction; a second nozzle aligning step of setting a reference position of a second nozzle tip for discharging ink within the working area through the image of the first camera and the second camera; a step of detecting a position of a substrate based on the image of the second camera; and a printing preparation step of positioning the first nozzle tip and the second nozzle tip to a printing position on the substrate.

The present disclosure relates to a method for aligning a plurality of nozzle tips, the method comprising: a first nozzle aligning step of setting a reference position of a first nozzle tip for discharging ink within a working area through an image of a first camera observing the working area above a substrate and a second camera observing the working area in an inclined direction; a second nozzle aligning step of setting a reference position of a second nozzle tip for discharging ink within the working area through the image of the first camera and the second camera; a step of detecting a position of a substrate based on the image of the second camera; and a printing preparation step of positioning the first nozzle tip and the second nozzle tip to a printing position on the substrate.