Morgan Advanced Ceramics has provided Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) with ceramic expertise in support of the latest scalable ink-jet technology. The ceramic injection moulded printheads allow for a great density of 3,900 print nozzles. As a result HP has been able to improve print quality and speed to create its fastest printing products.
Morgan Advanced Ceramics has developed its ceramic injection moulding process, which provides economic solutions to increasingly stringent material and product design requirements. The company’s ability to produce high precision components with excellent repeatability in high volume has allowed HP to achieve the overall technology required for its printers, which print up to twice the speed of alternative colour laser printers.
“Ceramic injection moulding offers significant process and raw material cost savings, compared to conventional methods of manufacturing complex parts,” says Paul Manison, Project Engineer, Morgan Advanced Ceramics. “The capability of producing intricate and complex geometrical shapes to a high quality surface finish without further machining was key to the manufacture of the printheads.”
“We were delighted to work with HP on the development of this innovative new printhead and support them with our ceramic expertise,” continues Mr Manison.
Ceramic has a superior material performance in this application. Its high hardness and mechanical strength, coupled with wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high working temperature and electrical insulation make it an ideal material for many components not only in the electronics industry but also within a variety of markets including medical, automotive, aerospace and telecommunications.