The effect of inkjet ink composition on rheology and jetting behaviour

Abstract

This work presents recent results on the way linear and non linear viscoelastic properties of the fluids affect the jetting mechanism. Recent progress on quantitative characterising both high frequency linear (LVE) and non-linear (NLVE) viscoelasticity of fluids allows fluids to be assessed for their jettability before using such materials in a DoD print head. In term of linear viscoelastic measurements, the Piezo Axial Vibrator (PAV) was used to probe the rheology of the fluids on a frequency range between 10Hz and 10000Hz. A filament stretching apparatus, called the “Cambridge Trimaster”, was used in combination with high speed cinematography, to characterize the fluids high speed stretching and break-up behaviour. The series of fluids investigated here consist in dilutions of mono disperse polystyrene with different molecular weight (110, 210, 306 and 488 kg/mol respectively) diluted in diethyl phthalate. The choice of polymer weights and concentrations were chosen to match both the complex viscosity and the LVE. However, non linear rheological data experiments exhibit differences in the fluid relaxation time and filament break-up mechanism. Ultra-high speed cinematography of DoD jetting events were correlated with filament break-up experiments and demonstrated that fluid rheology provides valuable information on the jetting quality of the fluids.