Ultrasonic vibrating nozzle spray coating and inkjet: technology and applications

 
Ultrasonic vibrating nozzle drop generation technology is being developed for spray coating and inkjet applications to enable precisely controlled non-contact deposition of a wide range of materials not compatible with conventional inkjet technology, while achieving production flexibility and control not possible with analogue printing and coating methods. This opens the possibility for novel digitally controlled processes for deposition of materials in a wide range of coating and printing applications. We describe the principle of operation of the vibrating nozzle drop generation process and give examples of the range of materials compatible with the technology and its use including coating and digital printing in medical and industrial manufacturing processes. Finally, we compare vibrating nozzle technology with a range of conventional coating and printing technologies, outlining typical ranges of operation in terms of coating material properties (viscosity, particle size), precision, and throughput.