Printed Electronics
Printing and imaging methods used to create electrical devices (membrane switch, flexible circuits, etc.) on various substrates.
Preparing the screen is the first step in the screen printing process and is probably the most important one. We can’t expect to achieve a good print result when using a screen of poor quality. The objective in any printing process is to reproduce the original artwork as exactly as possible.
Evaluating the quality of a direct-emulsion stencil before it is on press is a difficult task. Pinholes and edge defects might be uncovered with illumination and magnification, but overall stencil quality and flatness are impossible to measure. After many months of research, a test has been established that can evaluate the relationship between the emulsion and the mesh.
Printed electronics and material deposition using digital technologies is the next big frontier. With all the money being spent on research and development, we asked Paul Lindquist of Methode Electronics Inc. and Rich Baker of Integrity Industrial Ink Jet Integration a few questions.
Screen printing generally has the largest number of critical variables due to the number of parameters that need to be measured and tracked. Here are some of the key precision tools printers use to help them to be repeatable and faster, all while producing higher quality prints.
In the approximately 10 years since ultra‐violet light‐emitting‐diode (UV LED) curing lamps appeared in the market, there have been significant technological advances in LED efficiency and curing lamp performance.
Screen printing generally has the largest number of critical variables due to the number of parameters that need to be measured and tracked. Here are some of the key precision tools printers use to help them to be repeatable and faster, all while producing higher quality prints.
This study looks at the effects of drying temperature on screen tension. The results show that drying at higher temperatures created lower tensions on screens before they were printed.
Indirect photostencil films are dried after mounting. Direct/indirect stencils need two drying stages - after lamination and after washout. To avoid dimensional changes, edge lifting, edge shrinkage and reduction in adhesion, stencils should be dried with cold air; i.e., at ambient temperatures.
Why is knowledge of UV chemistry so important to a screen printer who either uses UV inks right now or is going to use them? Simply because UV inks are part of the UV technology, and use of UV inks should be viewed rather as an application of UV technology in screen printing. UV technology consists of three major elements: UV ink, UV reactor (or UV processor) and substrate.
This paper is a review of how the past several years of technological and chemical changes in screen printing have affected the squeegee — the one tool which has remained relatively unchanged through the years.
Sawtoothing can have an adverse effect on print quality. This article classifies all deviations from a straight line contour and are treated as serration phenomena.
Theories abound when it comes to mesh tensioning, how much tension is needed, and what tensioning method is best. Screen printers can shorten production time, reduce labor costs, and simplify screen making through rapid mesh tensioning, a method developed by SPTF.
In screen printing, the stenciling process requires measurements and control of the variables for consistency to obtain repeatable quality. Here are five tools for measuring and controlling stencil quality.
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