page_title: Inkjet technology
section_title: Drop formation
hierarchical_section_title: Inkjet technology / Drop formation
caption_attribution_description: English: Howtek Style single nozzle Tefzel operates in a 125C environment and is as soft as hard butter. Squeeze mode may not an accurate description. Fluid is expelled by sound pressure waves in the fluid. The piezo produces a sound wave through the wall of the nozzle tube.
context_page_description: Inkjet technology is a method for accurately depositing liquid droplets on a substrate in very thin layers. It was originally developed for the publishing industry with text and images, but has become a popular method in digital fabrication of electronic and mechanical devices and especially jewelry. Although terms, "jetting", "inkjet technology" and "inkjet printing", are commonly used interchangeably, inkjet printing usually refers to the publishing industry, used for printing graphical content, while Jetting usually refers to the general purpose fabrication via particle deposition.
context_section_description: Various drop formation technologies exist, and can be classified into two main types: continuous inkjet (CIJ) and drop-on-demand (DOD).
  While CIJ has a straightforward drop creation and sophisticated drop trajectory manipulation, DOD has sophisticated drop creation and no trajectory manipulation.
  A Howtek Inkjet nozzle uses a tubular thin wall piezo that produces a sound wave in the fluid chamber reflecting of both ends of the nozzle at the fluid speed of sound. The leading edge of a square wave signal triggers it and the lagging edge of the square wave signal in coincidence with the pressure wave expels the drop.This DOD single jet is acoustic. The 120C Tefzel nozzle is not rigid and does not squeeze.
caption: Representation of Howtek Inkjet Nozzle
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