Inkjet Printer Is Inspired By Human Eye To Become Clog-Free!
#-Link-Snipped-# engineers have derived inspiration from human eye to come up with an inkjet nozzle that doesnât choke ever. The eye and the nozzle are both alike in one sense-  both shouldn't dry but should also stay open. To achieve this, biomimicry was involved that unravels the human problems. As per the university, Jae Wan Kwon's (associate professor) invention employs a droplet of silicone oil to shield the orifice of the nozzle when not being used, just like the film of oil that maintains a thin layer of tears from on our eye. Over the surface of the human eye, eyelids strew the oil-film on the layer of tears.
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Nevertheless, the magnitude and the size of the inkjet nozzle prevent the usage of mechanical shutters, as the surface tension would make them stick at one place. As an alternative, a droplet of oil for nozzle is circulated in-out via an electric field. To unblock a clogged nozzle in a majority of inkjet printers, if the machine is not regularly used, fresh in explodes through the blockage caused by dry ink to resume the process, thereby wasting a lot of ink. Kwon's innovation is aimed to stop this wastage.
Have a look at the video -
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