Improving automation and process control of an indirect gravure (Pad) printing machine

Abstract

Because pad printing can be used on 3-D substrates, it has attracted the attention of many researchers in the field of printed electronics. This paper presents developments in the automation of a pad printing machine that improve its specifications for use in scientific fields and equip it with some unique features. Users of this machine can obtain graphs of printing force and printing step durations for tracing and analyzing the printing process. Here, to explain the design method, the printing technique features, the pad printing working process and related machine parts, as well as the development and design process, are described. In this section, some hardware, such as National Instruments CompactRIO, as well as software (LabVIEW) and data transferring under the EtherCAT protocol will also be discussed. Finally, the machine user interface and some analytical graphs of the machine will be explained.