Printing Resolution

To determine what the smallest circuits possible would be on this printer, the printing resolution was tested. This test was performed multiple times and the best images captured under the microscope are presented below. Figure 1 shows an example of a single line with a width of 50 microns. Unfortunately, this line has many breaks and gaps in it. This would not lead to a conductive trace. Figure 2 shows a much thicker line. In addition, this line was printed on top of twice. It can be seen that the majority of gaps have been filled in. This would provide a much better chance of achieving electrical conduction. Figure 3 shows a range of line widths. These were used to find what the minimum line width was that was possible of being printed. The line widths from the bottom to top were designed to be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 300, 400 microns. Note that the bottom five line widths are all about the same. It was concluded that 50 microns (whether due to the printer or AutoCAD) is the best resolution that can be achieved in our current setup.

Fig 1. Ink Line Test

Fig 2. Ink Edge Test

Fig 3. Ink Line Widths Test