--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Alan King <alan@...> wrote:
>
> Build the heater into the cart. Paraffins melt in the 120-160 F
> range, well below many plastics. Shouldn't be hard at all. Even if
the
> originals can't take the heat, there are so many clone carts that of
> course someone is using a higher temp plastic..
>
> Problem is the technology divide. Epson has the mechanical piezo
> heads, which would likely be better for this. But they're remote and
> permanent, would need seperate heat and aren't so easily replaced if
> something goes wrong.
Another problem: viscousity of the wax. All inkjet printheads are
designed for water-thin ink.
> HP has throwaway heads built into the cart, but
> IIRC they're resistive and use heat to move the ink, may not work well
> with an already higher temp liquid.
No, HP won't work because bubblejets work by vaporizing some of the
water/alcohol in the ink to drive ink out the nozzle.
I need to see if I didn't throw
> away my Epson Stylus 800 yet, it'd be great to try with since it's a
bit
> simpler being black only. Still the seperate head but I won't care if
> it gets destroyed, that's if I didn't already toss it.
Worth a try if you have the time and a printer to sacrifice. I suspect
the ultra tiny droplets of wax will cool too much to stick on the
short trip to the copper.
Inkjet ink is carefully formulated so it does not dry so fast that the
heads are always clogging, but must dry quickly enough so you can
handle the print immediately, and not continue to soak through the
paper fibers. Some of the ingredients in water based inkjet ink are
water, alcohol, and glycerine. The dye or pigment is a -very- small
percentage.
As far as solvent inkjet inks go, it's a wide open field... true
solvents, eco-solvents, etc. and more etc.
Hey, you know wax dissolves right into lighter fluid? Then the lighter
fluid can just evaporate away. Better do -that- printer testing
outside with a dry fire extinguisher handy.
Steve Greenfield