Ink jet deposition of ceramic suspensions: Modelling and experiments of droplet formation

We have successfully printed green ceramic objects from slurries of Al2O3 dispersed in paraffin wax using a commercial ink-jet printer developed for pattern making (Sanders Prototype MM6PRO). Concentrated suspensions are generally more viscous than the fluids normally passed through inkjet heads. This may alter the response of the printing system to its process parameters, e.g, driving voltage and frequency. We have explored the influence of fluid properties on the inkjet behaviour using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling and a parallel experimental study to determine the optimum printing conditions for particulate suspensions.