Purpose

Material-jetting (MJ) three-dimensional (3D) printing processes are competitive due to their printing resolution and printing speed. Driving waveform design of piezoelectric printhead in MJ would affect droplet formation and performance, but there are very limited studies on it besides patents and know-hows by commercial manufacturers. Therefore, in this research, the waveform design process to efficiently attain suitable parameters for a multi-nozzle piezoelectric printhead was studied. Therefore, this research aims to study the waveform design process to efficiently attain suitable parameters for a multi-nozzle piezoelectric printhead.

Design/methodology/approach

Ricoh’s Gen4L printhead was adopted. A high-speed camera captured pictures of jetted droplets and droplet velocity was calculated. The waveforms included single-, double- and triple-pulse trapezoidal patterns. The effects of parameters were investigated and the suitable ones were determined based on the avoidance of satellite drops and preference of higher droplet velocity.

Findings

In a single-pulse waveform, an increase of fill time (Tf) decreased the droplet velocity. The maximum velocity happened at the same pulse width, the sum of fill time and hold time (Tf + Th). In double- and triple-pulse, a voltage difference (Vd) above zero in the holding stage was adopted except the last pulse to avoid satellite drops. Suitable parameters for the selected resin were obtained and the time-saving design process was established.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the effects of parameters and observed data trends, suggested procedures to determine suitable parameters were proposed with fewer experiments.

Practical implications

This study has verified the feasibility of suggested design procedures on another resin. The required number of trials was reduced significantly.

Originality/value

This research investigated the process of driving waveform design for the multi-nozzle piezoelectric printhead. The suggested procedures of finding suitable waveform parameters can reduce experimental trials and will be applicable to other MJ 3D printers when new materials are introduced.

中文翻译：

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材料喷射3D打印多喷嘴压电打印头驱动波形设计过程研究

目的

材料喷射 (MJ) 三维 (3D) 打印工艺因其打印分辨率和打印速度而具有竞争力。MJ中压电打印头的驱动波形设计会影响液滴的形成和性能，但除了商业制造商的专利和专有技术之外，对其的研究非常有限。因此，在本研究中，研究了有效获得多喷嘴压电打印头合适参数的波形设计过程。因此，本研究旨在研究波形设计过程，以有效地获得适合多喷嘴压电打印头的参数。

设计/方法/方法

采用了理光的 Gen4L 打印头。高速相机捕获喷射液滴的图片并计算液滴速度。波形包括单脉冲、双脉冲和三脉冲梯形图案。研究了参数的影响，并基于避免卫星液滴和较高液滴速度的偏好来确定合适的参数。

发现

在单脉冲波形中，填充时间 (Tf) 的增加会降低液滴速度。最大速度发生在相同的脉冲宽度下，即填充时间和保持时间的总和 (Tf + Th)。在双脉冲和三脉冲中，除了最后一个脉冲外，保持阶段采用高于零的电压差 (Vd) 以避免卫星掉落。获得了所选树脂的合适参数，并建立了省时的设计流程。

研究限制/影响

基于参数的影响和观察到的数据趋势，提出了用较少的实验确定合适参数的建议程序。

实际影响

该研究验证了在另一种树脂上建议的设计程序的可行性。所需的试验次数显着减少。

原创性/价值

本研究研究了多喷嘴压电打印头的驱动波形设计过程。找到合适的波形参数的建议程序可以减少实验试验，并且在引入新材料时将适用于其他 MJ 3D 打印机。