Announced today at InPrint, Xaar is releasing a new print-head focused on the challenges presented by industrial applications. The 1002 AMp will, Xaar says, embody the benefits of its expertise in both fluid deposition and engineering integration.

This new iteration of the 1002 – released last month to supersede the popular 1001 print-head – is designed specifically for functional applications, including semiconductors, photovoltaics, control panels and screen fascias. While the original 1002 head claims improved uniformity and accuracy compared with its predecessor, the AMp model reduces the potential drop size to as little as one picolitre and is 'unrestricted' in the fluids it can deliver.

Advanced manufacturing – or AMp, for Xaar – requires such tiny dots because of the level of regulation needed when working with coatings, patterns and other substrate characteristics. The 1002 AMp builds on Xaar’s experience in ceramics, graphics and functional ink-jet areas, providing the high-frequency jetting and variable drop size essential for achieving the control necessary in this market. 

Xaar, reveals Mark Alexander, director of marketing, has worked with fluid developers and machine manufacturers to optimise this process. "Xaar's piezo-electric drop-on-demand ink-jet heads are very versatile and can handle a wide range of fluids, even in harsh industrial environments," he states. "In terms of a manufacturing process we can reduce costs and waste, as we've demonstrated in ceramics. We can reduce the amount of work in progress and inventory, and therefore working capital expenditure."

This focus on efficiency is a key part of Xaar's vision for an industrial future, and Alexander is keen to define the difference between inks and fluids in so doing. It isn't too much of a stretch to see that Xaar seems to be creating a new product model with the 1002 series, versioning it for different markets. "It would be fair to say that we will bring other products into this range by adapting and optimising the core print-heads that we offer to make them suitable for those applications,” Alexander responds.

The Cambridge-based manufacturer is one of the few actively seeking meaningful connections outside the print world, as exemplified by its work in neighbouring or overlapping industries, such as textile and direct-to-shape imaging. But does this mean it will eschew its traditional base in the graphic arts market?

"Look at labels, packaging, decorative laminates and ceramics, moving on into textiles and commercial," Alexander concludes. "We've talked about some of those being targets for our core technology and we are still massively engaged with print."