Inkjet printing on a large scale can be a simple task. NTS Mechatronics has over 20 years of experience developing inkjet equipment for various markets. Their printers provide print quality and accuracy down to micron levels. Thermal effects from printheads and other components can cause positioning errors, but NTS has remedies like temperature control and software corrections. Inkjet printing technology continues to advance in productivity, materials compatibility, and accuracy.

1. Inkjetprinten op groot formaat
een koud kunstje?
Mikrocentrum Themadag Thermomechanica
16 maart 2010
Jos Gunsing
NTS Mechatronics

2. Overview
• Intro Jos Gunsing
• Inkjetprinting
– NTS Mechatronics
– Print quality/accuracy
– Examples of IJ printers
– Thermal effects/remedies
• Conclusions/trends
• Appendix:
– General info NTS Group

3. Track record
Inkjet Equipment & Markets
Continuous inkjet &
drop on demand
1990 2004
Graphical Graphical
20 years experience in Inkjet Equipment !!
1995 2006 2007-now
Textile Electronics other applications
Continuous inkjet Océ hotmelt inkhead/
drop on demand

4. Stork Digital Imaging
colorproofing inkjet printer
Sensitivity curve human perception (indicative)
Size of deviation
in mu
2
1
10 20 30
Periodicity of deviations in mm

5. Banding in inkjet printers
Courtesy of Jos Notermans
Stork Digital Imaging/prints

6. Banding in inkjet printers
• Perfect drop positioning → no banding

7. Banding in inkjet printers
• Errors in drop positioning → banding

8. Banding in inkjet printers
• Positioning errors also cause color shifts

9. Printing
• Printer configurations:
– General:
• Printing motion and substrate handling combined e.g.
– Single pass
» Roll-to roll
– Multi pass:
» Shuttle/printheads motion
» Substrate motion/handling combined
• Printing motion and substrate handling separated e.g.
– Single pass
» Drum/shuttle
– Multi-pass
» Shuttle/printheads motion and/or
» Table motion

10. Stork Digital Imaging
colorproofing inkjet printer
Inkjetprinter drive system
(proofing printer/paper-foil-textile)
- Accuracy:
- 2 to 3 µm line-to-line; 600 dpi
- < 20 µm over 36 mm (4-colour)
- ±0.5 mm; start of print/print width
- Productivity:
- 1 tot 2 m2/hour
- Time for 1 print: 5 to 20 min.
Drum
up to
300rpm
Printhead
motion
Drops

11. Agfa - Thieme

12. M-press Tiger
AGFA M-press Tiger Inkjet Printer
550 up to 770 m2 /hour
Photo quality; 720dpi,
<5 micron scanning/point-to-point accuracy
64 printheads (Xaar);drop-on-demand
Combinations with
1 or more screenprint stations
(white,spot/metallic colour,varnish etc.)
Print format
2.6*1.6m
64 printheads
Fast scan:
acceleration 6 m/s2
speed (max) 1.3 m/s
Series product
Functions:
Force frame/metro frame
2 slave/2 master drive long stroke (hybrid belt/linear motor)
1 short stroke drive
Maintenance unit print heads
Calibration camera (NTS Optel)
Calibration robot
Total 9 PCB’s; distributed motion control (DSP-based)

13. Reference side M-press Tiger
Table
Reference side
Fast Gripper Gripper
scan
motion Table
Gripper motion
Substrate transport direction
Shuttle with
64 printheads
2 colours/head
Short
scan Screenprinting system
motion
(stepping)
Inkjet system

14. Thermal effects
• Required accuracies:
– Overall dot positioning accuracy approx. 20 µm
– Motion errors <8 µm (5 µm) 40
35
X-accuracy 3 sigma [mu]
Y-accuracy 3 sigma [mu]
– Overlay:
30
25
20
• approx. 50-100 µm ; 15
10
– screen-print/retro-verso 5
0
M a y -0 5
J a n -0 4
O c t-0 6
J u l- 0 9
F e b -0 8
N o v -1 0

15. Thermal effects
• Heat sources
– Printheads:
• Max. 30W/head; 64 heads/shuttle
• Typical UV ink temperature: 45 to 65°
C
– UV-sources
• 2 times 12kW pin curing (not continuous power)
– Linear motors:
• Fast scan direction/scanning
• Slow scan direction/stepping

16. Thermal effects
• Shuttle:
– Fast scan direction:
• Failure:
– Mispositioning of dots/colours
• Remedy:
– “Pre-/postignition” (SW/HW); T known
– Temperature control
– Slow scan scan direction
• Failure
– Mispositioning of dots (also unicolour)
• Remedy:
– Temp control ± 0.1° during 1 print cycle
C
– ± 1°C over longer periods
– Defined references of head positioning devices/printheads
– Remark: SW correction in this direction not possible

17. Thermal effects
• Substrate table:
– Overlay inkjet print/screen print:
Reference side for table, gripper, shuttle
• Temperature known;
– compensation start print position
» Reference side/line;
Gripper (steel) motion
» Table thermal center of gravity
» Gripper position Gripper
– Expansion length/width during print
Substrate motion
• Within print duration: ± 0.1° overall
C through
printing system
• Ambient temperature controlled
– table and substrate
Table (alu)
– Jetting distance 1.5 mm t.c.o.g.
• Landing distance/drop speed/drop angle
– Height tolerance table 0.15 mm overall
– Equal temperature over alu table/table shape

18. Conclusions
• Thermal aspects:
– Depending on printer layout/image-buildup
– Shuttle; T conditioning:
• Size in combination with transient temperature
• Perpendicular to fast scan
– Table; T conditioning:
• Size in combination with transient temperature
• Shape; Constant landing (printing) distance
– Other measures; T known:
• SW-related; timing of nozzle firing;

19. Trends Printing/jetting
Graphical/Semicon
– Graphical:
• Productivity; > m2 /h (’94->’99->2006->2009
resp. 2->20->400->770 m2 /h)
• One-off cost (offset/screenprint) vs. flexibility)
• Formats >
• Range of materials >
• Accuracy fixed (image quality)
– Semicon:
• Productivity:
– Cost/m2
– Accuracy:
» Moore’s law; also on PCB-level

20. Trends Printing/jetting
Graphical/Semicon
– Spin off graphical/jetting
• 3 D structures/Rapid Prototyping/Manufacturing:
– Productivity >
– Accuracy > (Shape/size/surface structure)
• Manufacture based on jettechnology
– Replacement lithography; PCB/Display-manufacture;
» Productivity >
» Accuracy > (resolution for PCB manufacture >>)
» Reliability (missing or malpositioned droplet)
– Development print head specific for functional jetting

22. Appendix
General info NTS Group

23. NTS Group
June 2009
January, 2010

24. Snap shot information NTS
• Privately owned, created in 2005 in a merger of Nebato
(est. 1954) and Te Strake (est. 1947)
• Head office in Eindhoven (NL), manufacturing locations in
NL, P.R. of China, Czech Republic and Israel
• 700 employees, turnover >100 M Euro
• Focussed on full life cycle support in manufacturing of opto-
mechatronic systems and components for world wide
operating OEM’s

25. NTS-Group Companies
Development System Suppliers Component & Part making Finishing
Engineering Mechatronics Machining Sheet Metal Surface Treatment
NTS Optel NTS Mechatronics NTS Mans (25%) NTS NTS Finish
Nijmegen Eindhoven Deurne Metaalbewerking Bergeijk
Bergeijk
NTS Systence NTS Mechatronics NTS Prometal NTS Hermus NTS Prometal
Wijchen Shanghai Slavičín, CZ Venray Slavičín, CZ
Shanghai, China
MI Partners (10%) NTS Shemer NTS Combimetaal
Eindhoven Bar Mislav, Israel (50%) Bergeijk
MA3 (10%) NTS Prometal
Eindhoven Slavičín, CZ

26. NTS Competences
• Engineering & Making Competences:
• Specialised platforms for accurate positioning
and handling;
• Optics and laser technology;
• Sheet metal frames and coverings;
• Machined parts in combination with above;
• Life cycle management: focus on the total life cycle
of the module: (integration of) design, engineering,
prototyping, industrialisation, value engineering and
- if useful - transfer to low cost country;
• Operational excellence: Lean thinking and acting in
the organisation and the supply chain.

27. International organization
NTS-group
g
System akin ies
Cap Eng. Supplier
M
abil
it
abi
litie C ap
s -NL
-NL -NL
-IL -CZ
-CN -IL
-IL *
-CN
-CZ

28. Markets
40%
35%
35%
30%
25%
25%
20% 18%
15%
10% 9%
10%
5% 3%
0%
Analytical Semicon Printing Medical Solar Other
Markets served in 2008

29. Semicon products overview
ASSEMBLEON
MANIA
ASME
ASML DEK

30. Analytical products overview
Phenom-World
SPECTRO

31. Medical products overview
Elekta
Philips Medical
Systems
Zimmer
MVM
DORC

32. Printing products overview
Punch Graphix
Buhrs
Stork Prints
Heidelberg
GOSS
Océ
Agfa - Thieme

33. Technology competence : Integrator
• Mechatronics • Manufacturing
– Positioning & handling – Lowcost concepts & system
– Motion building blocks architecture
– Machine dynamics – Calibration & test in production
– Precision mechanics – Reproducebility knowledge
– Power electronics
– Embedded software
• Optics & vision • Inkjet specific
• Physics – Handling of substrate (roll to
roll , sheet to sheet, xy)
• Environment
– Interaction with ink, inkhead
– Cleanroom and substrate
– Temperature – Intelligent synchronisation with
– Vacuum jetting-system
• Calibration knowledge – Cleaning

34. Motion Controlled systems : synergy by
reuse of proven solutions(technology)
m/s Velocity - Accuracy
100
10 Textile Electronics/
Semiconductor
Packaging.
1 Agro
CDr/DVDr Printing CD/DVD
Medical mastering
0.1 Textile
Graphical
0.01
0.001
mm
1 0.1 0.01 0.001

35. Track record
Inkjet Equipment & Markets
Continuous inkjet &
drop on demand
1990 2004
Graphical Graphical
20 years experience in Inkjet Equipment !!
1995 2006 2007-now
Textile Electronics other applications
Continuous inkjet Océ hotmelt inkhead/
drop on demand

36. Our core competence : complex system integration
Motion controlled Inkjet Equipment area
Jetting System area Application area
Ink, Inkhead & substrate Processes & environment