Inkjet Printers: Revolutionizing Manufacturing?
Inkjet printers are getting extremely good now, with even a $300 - $400 printer able to spit out fantastic looking prints at remarkable resolutions (from a DPI) perspective. So much research is being put into both the quality of the inks and the inkjet heads that extremely precise dots can now be placed onto a piece of paper, making for very photorealistic prints.
In addition to making high quality prints, some photographers who are still interested in older film-based post-processing have taken advantage of the high quality and ease of use of inkjet printers to print out negatives on transparencies that can then be used in enlargers to create prints on traditional photographic papers.
Now it looks like that's just the tip of the iceberg. A woman has created her own photovoltaic cell by printing nail polish remover onto a transparency covered in nail polished. This essentially etched signal paths onto the transparency, onto which she then laid metal using an oven, creating an electrical signal path.
I'm not much of an electrical engineer, but it sounds like the foundation for printing your own circuit boards is right there, doesn't it? Imagine being able to take simple electronic schematics, dump them into your computer, then print a board out using your inkjet printer plus some sort of heating device (oven, heater, etc.). You could begin to manufacture your own electronics components! That would explode the capabilities of your average hobbyist, and could even change the way certain types of electronics are manufactured! The possibilities are pretty exciting!
In addition to making high quality prints, some photographers who are still interested in older film-based post-processing have taken advantage of the high quality and ease of use of inkjet printers to print out negatives on transparencies that can then be used in enlargers to create prints on traditional photographic papers.
Now it looks like that's just the tip of the iceberg. A woman has created her own photovoltaic cell by printing nail polish remover onto a transparency covered in nail polished. This essentially etched signal paths onto the transparency, onto which she then laid metal using an oven, creating an electrical signal path.
I'm not much of an electrical engineer, but it sounds like the foundation for printing your own circuit boards is right there, doesn't it? Imagine being able to take simple electronic schematics, dump them into your computer, then print a board out using your inkjet printer plus some sort of heating device (oven, heater, etc.). You could begin to manufacture your own electronics components! That would explode the capabilities of your average hobbyist, and could even change the way certain types of electronics are manufactured! The possibilities are pretty exciting!
posted by Chris at 1:51 PM
0 comments
