The Partnership - Coatema and Heliosonic are planning a partnership
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Stay tuned for the launch of fuelcell2print, our high precision digital membrane coating system integrated
into a world-class web handling infrastructure. Pre-registration for trial days coming soon!Â
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Key highlights with our partner include a seamless integration of HELIOSONIC print head
with Coatema's cutting-edge web handling systems, digital fabrication for renewable energy tech, and a
significant leap in printing capabilities, combining speed with unparalleled precision.Â
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The fusion of Coatema's legacy with HELIOSONIC';s innovations is not just a partnership; it is a call to the future of industrial printing. We invite stakeholders, partners, and customers to join us in embracing
this new era where potential meets realization.Â
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The Companies Â
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HELIOSONIC - Printing the UnprintableÂ
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HELIOSONIC uses and develops a laser-based digital printing technology suitable for material
deposition with a large range of inks for several different applications. With this technology, inks that
can so far not be printed digitally can be used, such as high viscosity inks or inks containing large
particles.Â
The principleÂ
A carrier belt is coated with a layer of the ink. A laser beam is focused into the ink from the opposite
side of the belt. The laser creates a bubble, and, as a result, an ink jet is produced.Â
While the carrier belt is moving to continuously supply fresh ink to the printing area, the laser beam is
scanning over the belt.Â
Before reaching the scanner unit, the laser beam is passing through an acousto-optical modulator. The
acousto-optical modulator can switch the laser on and off, thus creating the digital image.Â
The acousto-optical modulator is digitally controlled, synchronized with the scanner movement. The
patterns for material deposition are given by image files in Tiff-format, that can be designed with any
image processing software.
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The jetting mechanism requires the ink to absorb the laser light (typically approx. 1070nm). For inks
that do not absorb at this wavelength, absorbers can be added to the ink.Â
MEMBER OF ATH www.coatema.com MEMBER OF ATH www.coatema.com
COATEMA Coating Machinery GmbH Roseller Straße 4 41539 Dormagen Germany P +49 21 33 / 97 84 – 0 F +49 21 33 / 97 84 – 170
The benefitsÂ
Fully digital technologyÂ
The material deposition is entirely controlled by the print file and the print parameters (such as
laser power, for instance). Unlike screen printers, the HELIOSONIC technology does not use a
print form. This allows for free form deposition with arbitrary shapes, that can be changed at
any time.Â
Contactless printingÂ
The print head does not touch the target. Depending on the ink, typical print distances are
200µm to 1mm. Therefore, wet-on-wet deposition is possible. This can be used to increase the
thickness of the deposited layer by running multiple prints consecutively on the same target.
Also, no pressure is applied to the target.Â
Nozzleless printingÂ
In principle, the HELIOSONIC technology can be thought of as an inkjet process without nozzles.
Thus, some of the major restrictions of conventional ink jet printers are eliminated. Since no
nozzles can be clogged or damaged, high viscosity inks and inks containing large particles can
be used.Â
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Coatema – From Lab2Fab
Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH designs and produces Sheet-to-Sheet and Roll-to-Roll equipment
for the coating, printing and laminating sectors. For more than 40 years Coatema has designed and
built laboratory equipment and pilot/production plants for traditional markets such as the textile sector
and the materials converting market. The laboratory and pilot machinery product lines were expanded
more than 20 years ago making Coatema a market leader in emerging technologies such as advanced
batteries, solar, prepregs, medical and pharmaceuticals, fuel cells and printed electronics.
Marketing Contact:
Tanja Simone, Marketing Manager
Phone +49 (0) 21 33 / 97 84 – 121