Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1517668
64 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2024 the print head array to enable printing in two directions. He explained that the image is built up in a series of layers, depending on the recipe specified, beginning with printing dams and ramps followed by fill layers. In his particu- lar example, ramps and fill layers were printed in two passes each, and a UV bump was included in the recipe. He remarked that the finish (shiny or matte) could be controlled by changing the parameters in the recipe. In his example, ink was placed only where required, and its local thickness was controlled accord- ing to the recipe. When the board was removed from the machine, the ink was cured enough to be handled, and an oven was used for final curing. In the comfort of the webinar studio, André Bodegom first introduced Mariana Van Dam, who reviewed Agfa's 20 years of inkjet expertise, with dedicated R&D facili- ties and more than 200 pat- ent families on inkjet inks. e company has the capac- ity to produce 2 million litres of inkjet ink per year. e range of inks for PCBs includes acid etch resists and legend inks as well as solder mask. e solder mask conforms to the requirements of IPC-SM-840E, UL94 V-0, and Automotive E2000, and is fully REACH, RoHS, and VOC-compliant. She summarised the benefits of inkjet solder mask compared with liquid photoimageable solder mask: 50% reduction in process time, 50% reduction in operating staff, 70% savings in power consumption, and 50% savings in ink consumption, as well as a much-reduced floor- space footprint and less peripheral equipment. Additional benefits included no solder mask in vias and no missing dams, as well as all the advantages of a fully additive 3D technology. For optimal adhesion and best edge defini- tion, it was recommended to prepare copper ing director at Adeon Technologies, and the speakers were Mariana Van Dam, senior prod- uct manager PCB imaging solutions at AGFA in Belgium; Ashley Steers, sales manager at Electra Polymers in the UK; and Dr. Luca Gautero, product manager at SUSS MicroTec Netherlands. ese are all experts I know per- sonally and whose technical knowledge and objectivity I have always held in the highest regard. is webinar promised to be a no-non- sense learning opportunity. e session began with a video demonstra- tion of the JETxSM18 printer by SÜSS Micro- Tec technical sales and support manager Peter deVrieze. He explained the process from data input to finished print, describing how fidu- cial positions are defined and how ink infor- mation, board information, and pre- treatment information are fed into a "flow engine." e heavy data processing is done by algorithm, and the flow engine automatically determines the required droplet size and flow-out compensation parameters to then create the print layers, producing a work package that can be shared to a net- work drive or to different printers as required. e work package can be retrieved at the printer using a barcode scanner or the printer's HMI. It is simply a matter of loading the board and pressing the start button. e printer recognises the board and aligns to its fiducials, correcting the image information as necessary to achieve exact registration, then rasterises the data and prints the required sol- der mask pattern. De Vrieze listed some of the features of the machine. It employs six print heads, each with 2,048 nozzles producing droplets of 2 picoli- tres, mounted in-line to give an effective print width of 9 inches. Flow-out of the ink is con- trolled by pin-curing with UV light, and sep- arate UV bars are mounted before and aer