Printing mechanics

Manufacturer Trade name Print head type Pin/dispenser type Number of Pins/Tips Number of slides on deck Approximate print rate (spots/sec) 

Genospectra N/A Custom Fiberoptic capillary bundle, noncontact 10,000 3,000 116 

Genometrix N/A Custom Capillary tube bundle, contact 256 15 427 

Solid pins are also used for microarray printing. These types of pins were adopted from gridding applications where they were primarily used 

While automated grid blotting may be used to create microarrays, the linear accuracy requirements for these robots are not as strict as those found on microarray printers. This limits their use to low density arraying where 

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Z Acceleration — Certain printing mechanisms involve striking the surface with the quill pin to dispense a droplet onto a substrate. Control of the acceleration rate can be useful in ejecting the droplet without crashing the pin into the substrate (sometimes called overdriving Figure 4.30). Not all arrayers have this feature. 

Figure 14.17 Printing mechanism based on surface tension and adhesion. The sample is first loaded into a sample channel by capillary action. The horizontal terminus of the tip ensures that a thin layer of a sample solution is accumulated at the end of the tip. The loaded tip contacts the printing surface depositing a droplet between the substrate and the pin. After the contact time (0.05 s), the pin is retracted and the droplet is held by strong adhesive forces to the substrate.

A further distinction, when referring to inkjet inks, is the printing mechanism. Solvent inks are used widely in drop-on-demand piezo inkjet printing (DOD PIJ) and in continuous inkjet (CIJ). To a lesser extent there is an effort to introduce solvents into thermal inkjet drop-on-demand (DOD TIJ). 

These different printing mechanisms have specific requirements, and hence lead to very different formulations. 

Bubble-jet cartridges actually have a liquid ink reservoir. The ink in these cartridges is sealed inside. Once the ink runs out, the cartridge must be removed and discarded. A new, full one is installed in its place. Because the ink cartridge contains ink as well as the printing mechanism, it s like getting a new printer every time you replace the ink cartridge. 

Copyright 2005 ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA. All rights resen/ed. This material may not be reproduced or copied, in whole or in part, in any printed, mechanical, electronic, film, or other distribution and storage media, without the written consent of the publisher. 

Fig. 3 Physical models of the course projects, (a) Lifting mechanism model (b) Pulverizing and printing mechanism model...

Table 8.5 Hydrogel-based organ printing mechanism of gel formation ...

Richter, C., and H. Lipson. 2010. Untethered hovering flapping flight of a 3D-printed mechanical insect. 12th International Conference on Artificial Life (Alife XII), Odense, Denmark, August 2010, Pp. 797-803. Available at http //creativemachmes.comell.edu/sites/default/files/ AlifelO Richter.pdf. 

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