[High-speed, high-accuracy coating of microscopic picoliter droplets in 0.1 seconds]

NTN Corporation (hereafter, NTN) has developed the "Desktop Type High-speed Microscopic Coating Applicator" that is capable of high-accuracy coating of microscopic droplets of a few pl (picoliter)*1 at a high speed of 0.1 seconds.

NTN has marketed the "Desktop Type Microscopic Coating Applicator*2" (hereafter, the conventional product), which is capable of coating a dot of 1/10 to 1/100 mm in diameter with an ultra microscopic droplet on the order of a few pl (picoliter) at a positional accuracy of 1µm*3, from 2010 and has been developing applications in the field of electronic component mounting and biotechnology. The conventional product required approximately 2.4 seconds to coat each droplet, however improvements made to the needle drive mechanism with the newly developed "Desktop Type High-speed Microscopic Coating Applicator" has shortened this time to 0.1 seconds for each droplet. This makes the product ideal for use on mass production lines where a large quantity of coating is required, and can contribute to better productivity at customer sites.

To ensure convenience on manufacturing lines, the developed product allows microscopic coating conditions to be set and configured on a PC monitor using a mouse. Mounting multiple coating containers and coating needles*4 allows numerous liquids to be selected depending on application, allowing continuous coating. The installation size is also a compact 300mm2, approximately the same size as a notebook computer, and the product has been designed to be easily incorporated into existing manufacturing lines by simply connecting it to an AC 100 V power source.

NTN exhibits the developed product at the "BIOtech Japan 2015" to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from May 13 to 15. This product will be proposed to customers that are considering installing microscopic high-speed coating applicators on manufacturing lines in fields such as electronic component mounting and biotechnology, to help increase sales of microscopic applicators.

  1. pl (picoliter): 1 trillionth of a liter
  2. 2010 press release:
    http://www.ntn.co.jp/english/news/new_products/news201000048.html
    Dispensers (devices for discharging fixed volumes of liquid) are common for coating microscopic droplets, however microscopic coating of a few pl is difficult, and the nozzles often become clogged. NTN's microscopic coating applicator resolves these issues by coating with liquid adhered to the outer circumference of the coating needle.
  3. µm (micrometer): 1/1000mm
  4. The installation size increases when multiple coaters are installed.
Features
(1) High speed, high accuracy
  • Capable of coating microscopic volumes of liquid or paste from a few pl to several 10 pl in 0.1 seconds for each droplet
(2) Functions that are easy to use, even on mass-production lines
(with the same usability as the conventional product)
  • Microscopic conditions can be set easily on a PC monitor using a mouse
  • Installing multiple coating needles allows coating to be switched between liquid and paste
(3) Designed to be installed easily on manufacturing lines
  • Compact design (installation area approximately 300 mm2)
  • Simply connect AC 100 V power source to operate
Coating example
1. Example of coating thick film silver paste (coating 500 dots continuously)

Coating diameter: approximately 75 φ µm

Viscosity: approximately 80 Pa-s

0 to 100th dot

400th to 500th dot
* No change to 0 to 100th dot

2. Example of coating low-viscosity material (color ink)

Coating diameter: approximately 50 φ µm

Viscosity: approximately 0.07 Pa-s

Example of coating red ink

Example of coating green ink

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