According to their names, aerosol is kind of mist mixing solid colloids and gas, while the ink is just liquid phase droplet. What is the advantage of both printing techniques in application of printing ceramic or thick-film materials, respectively? Is the aerosol jet printing providing higher resolution? Is the ink jet printing easier to prepare the printing materials?
Dear Mr. Jiang,
in my opinion, there are three major differences between the aerosol jet and ink-jet printing:
1. Print resolution;
2. Viscosity of ink (suspensions);
3. The distance from the printhead to the substrate.
1. Aerosol printing allows to achieve a higher print resolution, namely, almost 2-4 times higher than inkjet.
(Typical resolution printing with a of aerosol jet is 10 microns, several studies reported print resolution of about 5 microns, while using typical ink jet printing is a minimum resolution of 20-25 microns).
2. Method of aerosol jet have less strict requirements for the viscosity of ink (suspension), and therefore, a larger amount of materials (including ceramics, metals, etc.) can be printed by using an aerosol jet.
(Typical range of viscosity of ink (suspension) for aerosol jet is in the range from 0.5 to 2000 cP, while the ink jet ink is used with a low viscosity, typically less than 20 cP).
3. Aerosol jet has a greater opportunity to vary the distance between the print head to the substrate. Therefore, it is possible to print on non-flat (non-smooth) substrates. In of aerosol jet is possible to create 3D-contacts that inkjet is practically impossible.
(A typical distance between the print head to the substrate in the aerosol jet is 1-5 mm, while the ink jet distance is fixed and must be equal, typically 1 mm)
However, it is worth noting that the technology of aerosol printing is a younger technology compared to inkjet printing, the 2000s and 1950s, respectively. Consequently, the ink-jet printing more advanced technology, and you have more opportunities to find how to use inkjet printing to apply those or other structures. I also think that inkjet printing is a cheaper way of printing. For comparison, an industrial aerosol jet printer costs about 500k USD, and the industrial inkjet printer about 200k USD, although it can be found for 50k USD (as a reference).
Regarding the possibilities to form structures using ceramic materials and aerosol jet, I recommend the following article: DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.09.094.
The last article compared the aerosol jet and ink-jet printing can be found here: DOI: 10.1021/ie503636c
See also the attached picture (Aerosol jet vs Ink Jet.gif).
Hi colleagues,
Alexej explained it well. We had the same question and therefore started to compare both technologies. Have a look to our new publication comparing both technologies in detail that was already mentioned by Alexej:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271195658_Additive_Manufacturing_Technologies_Compared_Morphology_of_Deposits_of_Silver_Ink_Using_Inkjet_and_Aerosol_Jet_Printing
or: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie503636c
Article Additive Manufacturing Technologies Compared: Morphology of ...
Dear Mr Alexey Efimov , Thanks for the clear explanation.
Thanks to Dear Mr Enrico Sowade for your paper comparing two printing process and it was so useful.
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