Simon Rihm | Notion Systems GmbH: Why does conventional EHD printing fail on real-world, non-flat surfaces? The secret is a MEMS innovation that decouples drop ejection from flight.
07:20 - 09:52
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Summary of the clip:
Why does conventional EHD printing fail on real-world, non-flat surfaces? The secret is a MEMS innovation that decouples drop ejection from flight.
A major challenge in traditional EHD printing is its extreme sensitivity to the substrate. The process typically relies on a single electric field established between the nozzle and the substrate to both form and guide the droplet. Consequently, any variation in the substrate's topography, height, or material properties (e.g., the presence of metal lines versus dielectric regions) will disturb this field, leading to inconsistent drop formation, poor placement accuracy, and unreliable printing.
Scrona's technology solves this problem by fundamentally re-architecting the printhead using MEMS fabrication. They integrate the ejection electrode directly into the printhead chip, in very close proximity to the nozzle. This creates a highly localized, strong, and precisely controllable electric field for droplet *ejection* that is almost entirely independent of the global field between the printhead and the substrate.
With this innovation, the primary role of the external field is simply to *guide* the already-formed droplet to the surface, not to create it. This decoupling of ejection and guidance makes the printing process incredibly robust and insensitive to substrate topography and material variations. Furthermore, the MEMS-based approach allows for easy parallelization, scaling from single nozzles to high-density arrays with very small nozzle-to-nozzle pitch, which is critical for achieving high-throughput industrial manufacturing.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The critical flaw of traditional EHD: its sensitivity to substrate topography and materials.
* Scrona's key innovation: integrating ejection electrodes into a MEMS chip at the nozzle.
* How this MEMS integration decouples drop ejection from drop guidance, enabling robust, scalable, and high-resolution printing.
š **Clip Abstract** This clip reveals the critical weakness of conventional EHD printingāits sensitivity to the substrateāand explains Scrona's breakthrough solution. By integrating ejection electrodes into a MEMS-based printhead, they decouple drop formation from guidance, enabling robust, high-resolution printing on complex surfaces and paving the way for scalable manufacturing.
š Link in comments š
#EHDPrinting, #MEMSPrinthead, #DropletEjectionControl, #SubstrateAgnosticPrinting, #PrintedElectronics, #MicroLEDManufacturing
This is a highlight of the presentation:
High-Resolution, High-Impact: EHD Printing for Advanced Electronics
More Highlights from the same talk.
00:03:22 - 00:05:40
Can additive manufacturing really replace a 6-step subtractive photolithography process with a single step?
Can additive manufacturing really replace a 6-step subtractive photolithography process with a single step?
Subtractive photolithography has long been the bottleneck in electronic and advanced display manufacturing. A typical functional layer requires six distinct steps: substrate preparation, uniform layer deposition, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, and final resist stripping. This multi-step cycle results in significant material waste, high energy consumption, and long cycle times, limiting rapid prototyping and high-yield manufacturing scalability.
By transitioning to direct-write additive manufacturing via inkjet technology, companies can bypass this entire lithographic loop. Printing the etch resist directly eliminates two entire process steps. More dramatically, directly printing the functional material itself reduces the manufacturing workflow from six steps down to a single, high-precision deposition step.
This process consolidation translates into a paradigm shift for display and semiconductor packaging. It minimizes capital expenditure on etching equipment, slashes chemical waste, and drastically lowers environmental impact, demonstrating the massive commercial viability of industrial inkjet systems.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Why traditional subtractive processing requires six separate, resource-intensive lithography steps.
* How direct-write additive manufacturing consolidates the production workflow down to a single step.
* The strategic cost, energy, and material advantages of replacing subtractive etching with additive inkjet technology.
š **Clip Abstract** Direct-write additive inkjet printing offers a highly efficient alternative to traditional multi-step subtractive photolithography. By depositing functional layers in a single step, manufacturers can bypass complex etch-and-strip cycles, saving substantial time, energy, and raw materials.
š Link in comments š
#DirectWriteInkjet, #EtchResistPrinting, #SubtractiveToAdditive, #AdditiveElectronics, #SemiconductorPackaging, #PrintedElectronics
00:09:49 - 00:12:42
What happens inside the complex parameter space that dictates successful functional material printing?
How do we systematically conquer the multi-variable parameter space of functional inkjet printing to transition complex materials from the laboratory to high-volume manufacturing?
Industrial inkjet printing for printed electronics and advanced functional materials is governed by a highly complex, interdependent parameter space. The final deposition quality depends heavily on the triad of ink formulation, printhead dynamics, and substrate interaction. Crucial physical propertiesāincluding fluid viscosity, surface tension, and the speed of sound within the mediumāmust be precisely balanced to achieve stable droplet jetting and target morphology.
To bridge the gap between initial formulation and mass production, researchers require highly specialized, adaptable R&D tools that replicate industrial-grade performance within a compact footprint. Desktop platforms must deliver uncompromising mechanical precision, utilizing advanced linear axes and integrated camera-based alignment systems. This ensures that process parameters optimized during the research phase can be seamlessly scaled and transferred to high-throughput manufacturing lines.
Optimizing droplet generation requires real-time diagnostic capabilities to monitor fluid behavior at the nozzle plate. Advanced drop-watching systems are essential for analyzing droplet uniformity, detecting satellite droplet formation, and verifying nozzle consistency. By capturing these microsecond-scale dynamics, process engineers can systematically refine waveform design and ink rheology to ensure reliable, defect-free deposition of functional materials.
In this short video, you can learn:
* How the complex interplay of ink properties, printhead mechanics, and substrate characteristics dictates printing quality.
* The critical role of high-precision linear axes and camera alignment in scaling R&D processes to mass production.
* How real-time drop-watch diagnostics enable the analysis of droplet uniformity, satellite formation, and nozzle consistency.
š **Clip Abstract** The speaker discusses the complex parameter space of inkjet printing, highlighting how ink properties, printheads, and substrates interact to determine deposition characteristics. He then introduces a compact, high-precision desktop R&D printer equipped with linear axes, an alignment camera, and a proprietary drop-watch system for real-time droplet analysis.
š¤ Speaker: Simon Rihm
š¢ Company: Notion Systems
š
Event: Future of Electronics RESHAPED USA 2026
š Location: Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California, USA
š Learn more at the next TechBlick event: https://www.techblick.com
#DropWatcherDiagnostics, #JettingWaveformOptimization, #MicronPlacementAccuracy, #FunctionalInkDynamics, #PrintedElectronics, #AdditiveMicrofabrication
00:07:47 - 00:09:46
How do modern industrial printheads coordinate ten thousand nozzles ejecting 100,000 droplets per second?
How do modern industrial printheads coordinate ten thousand nozzles ejecting 100,000 droplets per second?
At the heart of industrial inkjet printing lies the precise control of fluid dynamics and piezoelectric mechanics. Inside each nozzle chamber, an integrated piezoelectric membrane acts as a mechanical actuator. When triggered by a highly optimized electrical pulseāreferred to as a fire pulse or waveformāthe membrane deflects, initiating an acoustic pressure wave that propagates within the fluid cavity to cleanly eject a single droplet.
This mechanism operates as a massive parallel processing system, rather than a slow serialized print. Modern printheads feature over 10,000 individually addressable nozzles per unit, with each nozzle capable of firing up to 100,000 micro-droplets per second. This high firing frequency enables rapid pattern generation without sacrificing high spatial resolution.
Because the digital controller can make localized, microsecond-level decisions for each independent nozzle, this non-contact process avoids the need for physical masks or screen-printing frames. This contactless, digital architecture makes wet-on-wet processing and rapid design alterations instantly realizable on the factory floor.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The exact electromechanical principles of piezoelectric membrane deflection and acoustic wave generation in inkjet nozzles.
* How massive parallelization scales inkjet throughput with over 10,000 nozzles per unit.
* Why digital, touchless, maskless operation enables immediate wet-on-wet processing changes.
š **Clip Abstract** Piezoelectric inkjet technology leverages acoustic waves within fluid micro-chambers to eject droplets at ultra-high frequencies. With thousands of parallel, digitally controlled nozzles, this non-contact process enables high-throughput pattern deposition without physical masks.
š Link in comments š
#PiezoelectricInkjet, #AcousticWaveEjection, #MasklessDeposition, #DropOnDemand, #PrintedElectronics, #AdditiveManufacturing