Inkjet Technology for Digital Fabrication (eBook)

Whilst inkjet technology is well-established on home and small
office desktops and is now having increasing impact in commercial
printing, it can also be used to deposit materials other than ink
as individual droplets at a microscopic scale. This allows metals,
ceramics, polymers and biological materials (including living
cells) to be patterned on to substrates under precise digital
control. This approach offers huge potential advantages for
manufacturing, since inkjet methods can be used to generate
structures and functions which cannot be attained in other
ways.

Beginning with an overview of the fundamentals, this bookcovers
the key components, for example piezoelectric print-heads and
fluids for inkjet printing, and the processes involved. It goes on
to describe specific applications, e.g. MEMS, printed circuits,
active and passive electronics, biopolymers and living cells, and
additive manufacturing. Detailed case studies are included on
flat-panel OLED displays, RFID (radio-frequency identification)
manufacturing and tissue engineering, while a comprehensive
examination of the current technologies and future directions of
inkjet technology completes the coverage.

With contributions from both academic researchers and leading
names in the industry, Inkjet Technology for Digital
Fabrication is a comprehensive resource for technical
development engineers, researchers and students in inkjet
technology and system development, and will also appeal to
researchers in chemistry, physics, engineering, materials science
and electronics.