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Ink jet in the PCB industry

Ink jet in the PCB industry. An introduction. Inkjet: definition. Inkjet: generation of images by propelling droplets of a functional material onto a substrate. Inkjet: thermal propelling. An ink is pumped in the pressure chamber An electrical heater generates steam

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Ink jet in the PCB industry

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  1. Ink jetin the PCB industry An introduction

  2. Inkjet: definition Inkjet: generation of images by propelling droplets of a functional material onto a substrate Eric Janssens May 2013

  3. Inkjet: thermal propelling An ink is pumped in the pressure chamber An electrical heater generates steam The increased pressure jets a droplet from the chamber onto the substrate Cheap, slow, difficult to control well, need of aqueous inks Used in consumer printers Eric Janssens May 2013

  4. Inkjet: piezo-electical propelling A piezoelectric crystal generates a shock wave in an ink chamber, jetting a droplet out of the chamber onto the substrate Ink is to be cured by UV light (UV inks) or by cooling down (phase shift inks) More expensive, fast, good control, wide variety of inks Used in commercial and industrial printers Eric Janssens May 2013

  5. Inkjet: continous propelling A high pressure pump generates a constant flow of charged ink droplets. The droplets can be deflected from the substrate by a electrical field Matured technology, long traveling distance, no nozzle clogging Used in industrial printers (marking). Eric Janssens May 2013

  6. Inkjet: functional material 1 Aqueous inks: Water, glycol and dye or pigment Dye: cheap, colors fade Pigment: long term, UV resistant Cheap, receiving layer needed on substrate 2 Solvent inks (hard and mild or eco) Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and pigments Can print on vinyl 3 UV inks Acrylic monomers and initiator After printing ink is cured by UV-light (pinning the droplet) Can be applied on uncoated substrates, very robust image Expensive, require expensive curing module Image may crack Eric Janssens May 2013

  7. Inkjet: substrate • The right propelling technology with the right functional material can print on: • Paper • Paper (with micro porous layer) • Wall paper • Coated paper • Card board • Textile (canvas, T-shirts) • Stone and tiles • Packaging materials • Plastics (vinyl) • Aluminum (cans, blisters) • Copper (PCB) • ……… Eric Janssens May 2013

  8. Inkjet: Heads: Good to know • Nozzle: • Pipe, channel that directs an ink droplet • Also called: droplet generation unit, propelling unit, orifice • Resolution • Figure indicating the number of nozzles per inch • Typical: 360, 720, 1440 DPI • Drop size • Figure indicating the content of one droplet expressed in pL (pico liter) • 1 liter = 1 000 000 000 000 (1012) pL • 1 000 000 pl weights 1 mg, • Typical: 80, 40, 14, 4, 1 pL Eric Janssens May 2013

  9. Inkjet: Heads: Good to know • Dots per droplet • One droplet can be formed by several dots (shots) • These dots conglomerate during flight to form one droplet • Typical: 1 to 8 Manufactures Brother, Cannon, Dimatix (ex Spectra) (part of Fujifilm), Epson, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh, Toshiba-Tech, Xaar Eric Janssens May 2013

  10. Inkjet: UV Inks: Good to know • Dynamic viscosity (jetability): • Resistance of a fluid to be deformed • Also "thickness“ • water is "thin“, low viscosity • honey is "thick", high viscosity. • The study of viscosity is known as rheology • Expressed in Pas (Pascal sec) / mPas or cPoise • Typical: 5 – 15 mPas • Static surface tension (line sharpness) • Measurement of the capacity of a liquid to form a ball when in contact with another surface • Expressed in N/m (Newton per meter) / mN/m • Typical: 20-25 mPas The Dynamic viscosity is varying with changing temperature Eric Janssens May 2013

  11. Inkjet: UV Inks: Good to know • Specific weight • Weight per volume unit • Expressed in kg/m3 / g/cm3 • Typical: 1 – 1,25 g/cm3 • Average particel size: • Size of the particles in the ink • Expressed in m / nm • Typical: 250 – 500 nm • Latency: • Time a nozzle can be idle without getting clogged Eric Janssens May 2013

  12. Inkjet: UV Inks: Good to know • Adhesion • Scratch resistance • Shelf life • Color and color fading • Dyes - pigments • Price (per liter, per cassette) • …. Manufactures: HP,Sun Chemicals, Cabot, Avecia, Agfa, Sericol,Taiyo, ….. Eric Janssens May 2013

  13. Inkjet: Printers: Good to know • Print quality • Resolution • Repeatability • Speed • Foot print • Flat bed / drum • Price (purchase, operation, maintenance, … ) • …. Manufactures: Agfa, Canon, First EIE, Epson, HP Kodak, Lexmark, Microcraft, Orbotech, Ricoh, Xerox, …. Eric Janssens May 2013

  14. Inkjet: Wave form Piezoelectric.avi Eric Janssens May 2013

  15. Inkjet: Cleaning mechanisms The primary cause of problems: when ink sedimentates, hardens or particles size grows in the print head's nozzles they get blocked (clogging) Solutions: • Covering the print head nozzles with a rubber cap • Suction pump • A mechanism to reapply moisture to the print head. • Frequent spraying and wipe print head The frequent cleaning can consume quite a bit of ink and has an impact on the cost Eric Janssens May 2013

  16. Traditional Workflow Patterning Resist (IL & OL) Solder mask Legend print Eric Janssens May 2013

  17. Workflow Inner Layer Traditional LDI & PI InkJet Provisional InkJet Final Eric Janssens May 2013

  18. Workflow Outer Layer Traditional InkJet Provisional InkJet Final Eric Janssens May 2013

  19. Workflow Solder Mask Traditional InkJet Provisional InkJet Final Eric Janssens May 2013

  20. Workflow Legend Design Plotter film Dev & fix film Produce Screen Screen print Clean screen Traditional Design Print InkJet Final Eric Janssens May 2013

  21. Long term reel to reel Inkjet: conductors, insulators, solder mask, legend ink, hole filler, conformal coatings, optical conductor, surface finishing, solder paste, ….. Eric Janssens May 2013

  22. And ab Eric Janssens May 2013

  23. Agfa holds good cards • Agfa Materials: • Market leader AgX phototooling • Good in-road in the PCB industry • WW sales & application organization • WW logistical organization • Agfa Graphics • Strong in Ink Jet technology and inks • Agfa Materials Technology Center: • Top lab that creates functional fluids • Agfa Material Operations • World class functional fluid production facilities Eric Janssens May 2013

  24. Your application and printing system Coatings Printer Jetting lab (single color) INKS Test platforms (multi color) Agfa Materials Technology Centre Functional fluid development Eric Janssens May 2013

  25. Agfa Materials Technology Centre Functional fluid development Jetting performance Jetting reliability Latency Image quality Cure speed Image permanence Acrylates Photo initiation Shelf life Pigment dispersion Wetting agent Raw material cost Manufacturability ….. • Physical Properties • adhesion • flexibility • scratch resistance • tackiness • …… Compatible with: - printer components - production facility - packaging - safety & environment regulations - patent situation Eric Janssens May 2013

  26. Agfa Materials Technology Centre Functional fluid development Eric Janssens May 2013

  27. Agfa Materials Operations Eric Janssens May 2013

  28. Agfa Materials Operations Eric Janssens May 2013

  29. Inkjet & the PCB industry Inkjet technology reached a level it is applicable in the production of PCB’s a competitive way with good yields ab is dedicated to transform from #1 in phototooling to # 1 in patterning Eric Janssens May 2013

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