Abstract: A method of manufacturing an ink jet print head includes the steps of bonding a body of piezoelectric material to a base plate and cutting channels into the piezoelectric material to form ink chambers which are actuated by applying voltages to electrodes provided on surfaces of the chambers. The base plate carries IC's which contain the drive circuitry for actuating the ink chambers. To ensure reliable electrical connection between the chamber electrodes and the IC's, the electrodes and conducting tracks on the base plate are formed in a single step by depositing a conductive layer over both the PZT body and the base plate. A step of masking or selective removal of material may be performed to achieve the necessary patterning of the electrodes and tracks.

Abstract: An ink jet printhead has a body of PZT bonded to a base plate. Channels cut in the PZT form ink chambers which are actuated by applying voltages to electrodes on surfaces of the chambers. The base plate also carries IC's which contain the drive circuitry for actuating the ink chambers. To ensure reliable electrical interconnection between the chamber electrodes and the IC's, the electrodes and conducting tracks on the base plate are formed in a single step by depositing a conductive layer over both the PZT body and the base plate. The necessary pattern of electrodes and tracks can be achieved by masking or by selective material of conductive material.

Abstract: A multi-channel array droplet deposition apparatus has a base sheet comprising a layer of piezo-electric material poled normal thereto, an array of parallel, open-topped droplet liquid channels provided by upstanding channel separating walls formed in the layer, electrodes on channel facing surfaces of the walls, a channel closure sheet bonded to the walls, nozzles respectively communicating with the channels and a droplet liquid supply connecting with the channels, the closure sheet having an array of parallel conductive tracks thereon paced at intervals corresponding with the channel spacing and located parallel to and opposite the channels and bonds, which preferably are solder bonds, mechanically and electrically connect each track to the electrodes of the channel facing walls of the channels opposite thereto and seal the closure sheet to the channels.

Abstract: A method of providing the surface area of a substrate with a first zone which is solvent-wettable and a second zone which is solvent-non-wettable, and which is particularly suitable for application to the printheads and nozzle plates of drop-on-demand ink jet printers or like products where the spacing between zones of the same kind can be as little as just tens of microns, and wherein the solvent-non-wettable zone displays excellent abrasion resistance and resistance to solvents, is virtually non-wettable by a wide range of solvents and bonds well even to plastics substrates, comprises:(i) providing a surface having good solvent wettability at least over that part of the area of the substrate which is to form said first zone;(ii) providing said area with a first layer which comprises siloxic material which bonds to the substrate and which is in contact with the substrate over at least that part of the area which is to form said second zone;(iii) providing said area with an overlayer comprising organic fluoro

Abstract: A housekeeping manifold is provided at the end of a row of ejector apertures of a drop-on-demand printhead module. The housekeeping manifold includes upper and lower parts disposed on opposite sides of the row of ejector apertures, a trench extending between the manifold parts through which ink drops from the ejector apertures are discharged, openings between the manifold parts and the trench and a ducting arrangement for supplying environmental fluids to or exhausting such fluids from the region of said apertures by way of the manifold parts and trench.

Abstract: A drop-on-demand ink drop printhead is mounted fixed in a printer for selectively printing drops of ink in a print line. The printhead comprises a plurality of stacks of like print modules arranged in side-by-side relationship to form a number of laterally offset module layers. Each of the modules includes at least one group of uniformly laterally spaced ink ejectors, the groups in each layer being laterally spaced by the same amount such that drops from overlapping portions of two or more of the groups interleave to form a segment of the print line. Make-up ink and air supply ducting arrangements are provided for the modules in each stack.

Abstract: An abrasive multi-disc cutter is formed by uniformly coating a cylindrical holder with a mixture of diamond powder and resin. The holder is rotated about its longitudinal axis while one or more beams of laser energy are used to ablate the resin for forming a plurality of annular depressions in the coating, the depressions being equally spaced along the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical holder. An abrasive annular cutting disc is thereby provided between each pair of successive annular depressions. The cutter is used to cut a plurality of parallel, spaced ink cavities in a piezoelectric substrate forming part of an ink jet printer printhead.