Martin Ungerer | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: Why do today's leading aerosol jet printers need 15 minutes to warm up and a mechanical shutter just to print a simple line?

What if you could generate an aerosol jet instantly, inside the printhead, with no warm-up, no shutter, and in any orientation?

The novel Aerosol on Demand (AOD) process fundamentally re-imagines aerosol printing by solving the core problems of conventional systems. The key innovation is generating the aerosol from a point-like source directly inside the printhead. This eliminates the free ink surface found in traditional atomizers, making the printhead's orientation completely independent of gravity and enabling true multi-axis 3D printing.

This integrated, compact design removes the need for any external piping to transport the aerosol. By eliminating these long flow paths, the system minimizes dead volumes, drastically reduces ink waste, and simplifies the cleaning process when changing materials. This makes it feasible to use precious or sensitive inks, such as biological materials, which would otherwise degrade due to evaporation or long residence times in a conventional system.

The AOD process delivers true "on-demand" capability. It requires no run-in procedure to establish a stable jet; the aerosol generation can be switched on and off instantly. This completely removes the need for a mechanical shutter, simplifying the system and improving reliability. Furthermore, the mass flow of the aerosol can be adjusted in-line during printing, enabling dynamic control over the deposition rate to match variable printing speeds and ensure consistent line quality.

In this short video, you can learn:
* How internal, point-like aerosol generation enables gravity-independent printing.
* The advantages of eliminating piping, such as reduced waste and preservation of sensitive inks.
* How "on-demand" toggling and in-line mass flow control create a more agile and precise printing process.

📋 **Clip Abstract**
The novel Aerosol on Demand (AOD) process solves key limitations of conventional systems by generating aerosol directly inside the printhead. This enables gravity-independent operation, eliminates warm-up times, and allows for instant on/off control without a shutter, significantly improving efficiency and material compatibility.
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Can a brand new printing technology successfully deposit an 8-year-old silver nanoparticle ink and achieve high conductivity?

This clip showcases the first functional demonstration of the fully integrated Aerosol on Demand (AOD) jet printing system. Moving beyond conceptual designs and water-based tests, the technology is put to the ultimate test: printing a real functional material. The complete system, featuring a Cartesian robot, PLC control, and a protective hood, is used to deposit a silver nanoparticle ink onto a PET film substrate.

Remarkably, the initial tests were conducted using a silver ink that was over eight years old. The ability of the AOD system to successfully process such an aged material, which would likely cause issues in other printing systems, is a powerful testament to the process's robustness and its gentle handling of the ink. This success highlights a key commercial advantage, suggesting wider material compatibility and less sensitivity to ink condition.

The initial quantitative results are highly promising. The system achieved a minimum line width of approximately 180 microns, and after a low-temperature sintering process, a 170 mm long printed line exhibited a resistance of just 18.6 ohms. Crucially, the process also demonstrated excellent reproducibility in these very first tests; over 20 printed lines, the system achieved a mean line width of 224 microns with a tight standard deviation of only 12 microns, validating its potential for reliable manufacturing.

In this short video, you can learn:
* The first demonstration of printing functional silver nanoparticle ink with the AOD system.
* How the process successfully printed with an eight-year-old ink, proving its robustness.
* Initial performance metrics for line width, conductivity, and printing reproducibility.

📋 **Clip Abstract**
Moving beyond concept, the AOD jet printing system demonstrates its real-world capability by successfully printing conductive silver lines using an eight-year-old nanoparticle ink. Initial results show promising conductivity and excellent reproducibility, validating the technology for functional electronic applications.
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