Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Powder and inkjet printing
aengel
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2018 2:05 pm

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by aengel »

Triton uv curing inks for inkjet :

https://www.tritron.eu/1/produkte/marki ... chriftung/

Kao Collins uv curing inks for inkjet headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio USA

https://www.kaocollins.com/inks/uv-curable-ink/
maxt
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:38 am

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by maxt »

aengel and wonko, thank you both for the references.

however I assume that neither of you has succesfully printed with an UV ink with the XAAR-128 ? and not with a water based ink ?

thanks
Massimo
Wonko
Posts: 110
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 8:13 pm

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by Wonko »

I have only tried solvent based ink, yes. Tritron V Photon black is a suggestion from the Xaar ink recommendation list specifically for the 128, but who knows if that list is correct. This is the only UV ink mentioned there. Water based ink fails for me completely. It took me forever to find that out when I connected the head the first time. I doubted my power electronics, my connections, my data logic, my uC programming, until changing to solvent based ink proved that I did everything correctly from the beginning - except choosing the right ink.
davidk
Posts: 77
Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:48 pm

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by davidk »

I know. I made the same mistakes and assumptions and lost two printheads by running water and aqueous ink. The irony is for me solvent ink was exactly what I needed. And it never clogs...
maxt
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:38 am

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by maxt »

hi,
and thank you for avoiding me a lot of troubles... I'll have to look into the solvent based inks, if they fit my application. Certeinly not for the plaster powder... Any clue what kind of solvent are these inks based on ?
thanks
Massimo
Braden
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:42 pm

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by Braden »

davidk,

Could you please send me some pics of your ink supply system? I am trying to use an espon ink damper in my design such as you but cannot seem to get consistent ink flow without air bubbles in my hose lines. Specifically, I either get way too much ink flow and ink bleeds a lot or I get way too little ink flow and have big air bubbles in my supply line. I am trying to use a gravity fed ink supply system instead of a vacuum fed one in order to save money and time on the design.

Thanks for the help,

Braden
davidk
Posts: 77
Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:48 pm

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by davidk »

Hi,

This is my setup. You can see the damper above the head, the capping station I built (with a silicone band gasket and peristaltic pump), the reservoir and of course a print sample. The sample print is 8 times overprint microweaved. My head has a full blocked nozzle and many nozzles are deflecting badly.
I have a brand new head but didn't install yet.

Priming was donme very easy, with the head pressed by capping gasket. Pump was sucking ink for about 10...15s in two times. After this I wiped manually with a tissue and it's ready for use.
Attachments
result.jpg
result.jpg (114.63 KiB) Viewed 27383 times
ink_reservoir.jpg
ink_reservoir.jpg (105.68 KiB) Viewed 27383 times
Head_damper.jpg
Head_damper.jpg (100.07 KiB) Viewed 27383 times
Capping.jpg
Capping.jpg (122.9 KiB) Viewed 27384 times
maxt
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:38 am

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by maxt »

hi,

anybody knows what's the difference between wetting and non wetting versions of this printhead ? Cost the same, which one is preferable in which application ?

thanks
Massimo
davidk
Posts: 77
Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:48 pm

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by davidk »

I really have no ideea and they don't explain this in datasheet. I understand from datasheet that the non wetting models are harder to care because of the nozzle plate coating. They can't be wiped in fact you can never touch the nozzle plate because the coating will be damaged.
maxt
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:38 am

Re: Hacking the Xaar 128 printhead

Post by maxt »

davidk wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 3:59 am I really have no ideea and they don't explain this in datasheet. I understand from datasheet that the non wetting models are harder to care because of the nozzle plate coating. They can't be wiped in fact you can never touch the nozzle plate because the coating will be damaged.
yeah, that was my understanding as well. But since they cost the same I was wandering what's the benefit for so much delicate coating
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