subject: Using a Digital Inkjet Press and a Flexo Press for Making Flexible Electronic Circuits [print this page] Using a Digital Inkjet Press and a Flexo Press for Making Flexible Electronic Circuits
An effective and cost efficient means of making flexible electronic circuits is to use a digital ink jet printer. The method allows the printer to apply lines of conductive inks and alternating insulating layers to create everything from seat heaters and rear window defrosters to more complicated items such as touch pads. Because digital presses forego an extensive setup they can be a cost efficient way to do short runs of electronic circuits on polyester and polyimide films. Ink jet digital presses are being developed to print patterns of functional liquids containing insulator, semiconductor, and electronically conducting materials with the eventual goal being to print functional flexible transistors
Inkjet printing gets the job done with efficient use of materials and energy in patterning electronically functional materials. Issues in printing circuits with inkjet technology include how the ink interacts with the substrate and the need for post deposition treatments such as drying, annealing, and sintering. A basic issue in the use of such a technology is that "finishing" cannot be done by the digital press and requires another solution. This solution can be a "stand alone" machine that only does other operations such as die cutting or it can a flexographic press with the ability to re-register the web in order to apply other layers to the print job, to laminate, or to die cut the final product.
In using a flexo press for finishing operations on flexible electronic circuits the single most important issue is the precision of re-registering the web. This will typically require the printer to purchase a servo press or, more cost efficiently, invest a fraction of the cost of a new servo press in the easily attached Servo 3000 Digital Infeed + Re-register system. This system allows the press to so accurately re-register the web that it can run second pass operations at full press speed with 0.0025" resolution.
The Servo 3000 can supply this finishing function for virtually any digital press job, including finishing multi layer, extended content labels as well.
The use of a precise servo mechanism such as the Servo 3000 press upgrade provides lets the printer use an existing Flexo press for finishing work virtually digital label press work and at a fraction of the cost of a new servo press. If the printer uses a flexo press for this finishing function he extends the use of his existing press while avoiding the investment downtime of a single function machine.
A Flexo press equipped with the Servo 3000 Digital Infeed +Re-register system made by Rotary Technologies becomes more versatile, experiences less waste both in setup and running, and can print on a wide range of substrates due to its precise web re-registration and web tension control due to its advanced servo infeed system. Using the Servo 3000 allows a press to re-register the web for work done on the same on other presses, fix mistakes, print more colors, print multi layer, extended content labels, and more. An existing Flexo press armed with the Servo 3000 upgrade can be used to re-register work from a digital label press, including flexible electronic circuits and to die cut and laminate and at speeds substantially faster than that of the digital press.
