A desktop electrohydrodynamic jet printing system

Micro/nano-scale manufacturing Electrohydrodynamic jet printing Manufacturing process System design/integration a b s t r a c t This paper discusses the design and integration of a desktop system for electrohydrodynamic jet (E-jet) printing. E-jet printing is a micro/nano-manufacturing process that uses an electric field to induce fluid jet printing through micro/nano-scale nozzles. This enables better control and resolution than traditional jet-printing processes. The printing process is predominantly controlled by changing the voltage poten-tial between the nozzle and the substrate. The push to drive E-jet printing towards a viable micro/nano-manufacturing process has led to the design of a compact, cost effective, and user friendly desktop E-jet printing system. The hardware and software components of the desktop system are described in the paper. Experimental results are presented to validate the performance of the system. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1