Stood-up Drop as a novel and sensitive method for assessing surface printability
Dr. Thomas Willers
Director Product & Business Strategy, KRÜSS GmbH
Crowne Plaza, Rheinallee 1, 41460 Neuss
For decades, specialist printing has been the source of industrial application solutions: Healthcare and pharmaceuticals, automotive, printed electronics, Internet of Things but also the growing success of additive techniques have established print as a manufacturing solution. The expansion of fluid deposition systems on diverse surfaces and across various markets have proven how versatile printing can be. But many applications are only at the beginning of this integration process, learning the power of expanding, combining, or evolving technologies.
The goal of Industrial Print Integration is to introduce industry partners to a world of new manufacturing possibilities. We want to show the adaptability of a number of print processes from large to small, from ultra-precision to high speed, from volume production to customisation and “mass customisation”. ESMA members and partners – manufacturers, suppliers, providers and consultants, all of them leading print technology experts – are best placed to showcase and explain the disrupting power of print.
IPI brings together experts from all industrial print technologies to consult on best case options as well as to provide tips on new developments, allowing manufacturers to compare strengths and identify best practices. Screen and pad printing, inkjet, spray coating, as well as other jetting techniques are all welcome to offer their solutions to today’s market’s crucial issues, including technology, sustainability and new business models.
Contact angle measurement is a key technique in the printing industry, used to guide formulation and pretreatment parameters and evaluate performance metrics such as wettability, (re)coatability, defect control, and adhesion. While static contact angles are widely recognised, dynamic contact angle measurements are often underutilised, likely due to the complexity and time required – typically taking two hours or more for a full set of measurements. In this presentation, we introduce a novel method called the "Stood-up Drop" technique, which enables rapid and reliable measurement of recently receded contact angles, reducing the typical measurement time from hours to mere seconds. Through application examples, we demonstrate how the recently receded contact angle proves to be significantly more sensitive than commonly used metrics like static or advancing contact angles, as well as surface free energy determinations. This talk will be particularly valuable for those interested in using highly sensitive tools to evaluate surface printability, especially following pretreatment processes such as corona, plasma, or other chemical treatments.