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2 layersPump, the printed circuit board in 3D

Inkjet printer for printing ceramic thin films: software, electronics and CAD designs

Copper layers
2
Thickness
1.6 mm
Parts
10
Nets
14
Pads
34
Tracks, vias
50, 4
Routed
Yes
KiCad
KiCad 8.0 (file 20240108)
Created
3 Nov 2023
Updated
3 Mar 2025

Overview

Pump is an open-source printed circuit board by tuwrraphael, from the tuwrraphael/inkjet-printer repository on GitHub, published under the Apache-2.0 licence. It is a 2-layer board with 10 parts on 14 nets, routed with 50 tracks and 4 vias.

Its parts include 9 connectors and 1 resistor.

README

README.md

Inkjet Printer

A microscope image of a printed TU Wien logo on a 10mm x 10mm substrate.

This repository contains the code, PCB, and CAD of the custom-designed inkjet printer for printing ceramic thin films, which was created as part of the master thesis Development of an Inkjet Printer for Electrolyte Layers of Oxygen Ion Batteries.


See a preview of the control software: https://tuwrraphael.github.io/inkjet-printer/.

An overview image of the implemented inkjet printer.
An overview image of the implemented inkjet printer.

Details about the printer, challenges and design decisions, its application and evaluation can be found in the thesis.

Repository structure:

  • inkjet-printer-app: A web app that controls the printer, is used for planning print jobs, print monitoring & evaluation, calibration and maintenance. Runs in a browser using WebUSB and WebSerial for communicating with the hardware. A deployed version to test an be found here.
  • inkjet-printer-zephyr: The Zephyr based firmware of the printhead drive electronics.
  • pcbs/Xaar128-Driver: The main PBC design of the printhead drive electronics.
  • cad: Various CAD files of attachments added to the printer.

Cite this work

The main purpose of publishing this repository is to provide insights into the development of a custom inkjet printer. If you got inspired or found parts of this project useful, please cite the thesis.

text
@mastersthesis{HaukRaphael2024DoaI,
  title = {Development of an Inkjet Printer for Electrolyte Layers of Oxygen Ion Batteries},
  author = {Hauk, Raphael},
  year    = 2024,
  school  = {TU Wien},
  address = {Vienna, Austria},
  type    = {{Master's thesis}},
  note     = {Available at: \url{https://doi.org/10.34726/hss.2024.116604}}
}

Acknowledgements

This research was funded in part by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) 10.55776/COE5.

Licensing

The firmware builds on Zephyr Project, which is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. Tools and libraries used in the control software are listed in the app here.

Parts

10
QtyValueFootprintReferences
3Screw_Terminal_01x02RS_PRO:Steckbarer_Klemmenblock_1x02_5.08mm_horizontalJ4, J5, J7
2Conn_01x01_SocketConnector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x01_P2.54mm_VerticalJ6, J9
2Conn_01x04_SocketConnector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x04_P2.54mm_VerticalJ3, J8
2Conn_01x08_SocketConnector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x08_P2.54mm_VerticalJ1, J2
110kResistor_THT:R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P7.62mm_HorizontalR1

Questions

What parts does the Pump use?

10 parts. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.

Where can I download the Pump KiCad files?

From the tuwrraphael/inkjet-printer repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is pcbs/pump/pump.kicad_pcb and its schematic pcbs/Heatbed/Heatbed.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.

Can I use the Pump design in my own project?

Its repository publishes it under the Apache-2.0 licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).

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