Morgan Advanced Ceramics (MAC) has applied its ceramic injection moulding expertise to the development of new print heads for Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) latest ink-jet technology machines. Ceramic injection moulded print-heads enable a great density of print nozzles to be achieved (some 3,900 in this case), allowing HP to improve both print quality and speed. Indeed, HP's latest ink-jet printers are able to print at up to twice the speed of alternative colour laser printers. MAC project engineer, Paul Manison comments:
"Ceramic injection moulding offers significant process and raw material cost savings, compared with conventional methods of manufacturing complex parts. The capability of producing intricate and complex geometrical shapes to a high quality surface finish without further machining was key to the manufacture of these print heads."
According to MAC, ceramic offers superior performance for this application, thanks to its high hardness and mechanical strength, coupled with wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high working temperature and electrical insulation.