Improved Laser Printing Equipment for Ceramics ILPEC

“改进的陶瓷激光印刷设备”建立在AHRC资助的项目“拓展数字印刷陶瓷表面的潜力”(AH/M004333/1)成果的基础上。新项目将立即逐步改进陶瓷餐具和礼品制造商以及陶瓷设计工作室目前可用的陶瓷激光打印设备。该项目还将通过确定直接用于英国陶瓷公司和相关创意行业需求的下一代机器的技术规格，发挥更长期的刺激作用。激光打印陶瓷技术的价值已在有限的环境中得到证明：它现在被广泛用于打印用于装饰餐具、礼品和艺术品的小批量陶瓷转移。最近，英国领先的陶瓷公司开始认识到这项技术的真正潜力及其商业颠覆能力。这种新的欣赏在一定程度上要归功于AHRC资助的皇家艺术学院开展的研究项目。这表明，新技术提供了一系列丝网印刷无法获得的美学和经济机会，目前丝网印刷是创造大量陶瓷转移的主要手段，用于装饰高价值陶瓷，即瓷器和骨骼中国。作为一种真正的数字技术，激光印刷也具有将数字设计开发与实际印刷过程完全整合的潜力。该项目的一个意想不到的结果是，项目组确定了更广泛地采用当前激光陶瓷印刷技术的两个关键技术障碍。虽然目前可用的激光打印机足以满足办公室打印的要求，但事实证明，在大容量、多色准确陶瓷转移打印的背景下，这些激光打印机的结构有两个方面是薄弱环节。首先是目前的调色剂输送系统无法处理大量陶瓷转印所需的大量不同颜色的矿物颜料。第二个问题是打印机送纸机构的配准精度较低。该项目将开发成功打印大量高质量多色陶瓷转印所需的改进机器部件。新的部件和改进的碳粉输送系统以及更精确的进纸系统将使用数字建模和3D打印或激光切割反复开发。这些部件的最终设计将作为开源CAD文件发布在RCA存储库上，允许其他用户使用相同的技术自己创建部件。该项目还将组建一个行业工作组，以超越目前可用的技术，并确定下一代专用陶瓷颜料数字激光打印机的要求。利用工作组的综合专业知识，项目团队将起草一套全面的规范，以满足陶瓷制造商和可能使用此类机器的相关行业的需求。预期工作小组的成立亦会促进公司在互补领域的积极伙伴关系，并协助两个项目的成果透过成员本身的专业网络传播。开放取用的电脑辅助设计档案将即时为现有的打印机带来实质的改善，而规格则会告知下一代专用数码激光打印机。这两本书都将通过RCA的储存库获得，并通过专门的RCA项目网页进行传播。项目组还将在贸易展、会议和陶瓷节上介绍项目成果，并通过相关贸易和学术出版物上的文章介绍项目成果。

'Improved Laser Printing Equipment for Ceramics' builds on the results of the AHRC funded project: 'Extending the Potential for the Digitally Printed Ceramic Surface' (AH/M004333/1). The new project will offer immediate incremental improvements to the ceramic laser printing equipment currently available to ceramic tableware and giftware manufacturers and ceramic design studios. The project will also act as a longer term stimulus by identifying the technical specifications for the next generation of machines that will be directly dedicated to the needs of UK ceramics companies and related creative industries.The value of laser printed ceramic technology has been proven in limited contexts: it is now widely employed to print small runs of ceramic transfers used to decorate tableware, giftware and artworks. More recently leading UK ceramic companies have started to recognise the technology's true potential and its commercial disruptive capability. This new appreciation is due in part to the AHRC funded research project conducted by the Royal College of Art. This has demonstrated that the new technology offers a range of aesthetic and economic opportunities unattainable with screenprinting, currently the dominant means of creating the large runs of ceramic transfers used to decorate high-value ceramics i.e. porcelain and bone china. As a truly digital technology, laser printing also holds the potential for complete integration of digital design development and the actual print processes. One unanticipated outcome of the project was that the project team identified two key technical barriers to wider take-up of current laser ceramic printing technology. Whilst the laser print machines currently available were adequate for the requirements of office printing, two aspects of these laser printers' construction have proved to be weak links in the context of high volume, multi-colour accurate ceramic transfer printing. First is the inability of the current toner delivery system to handle the large quantities of different coloured mineral pigments needed for large runs of ceramic transfers. The second is the poor registration accuracy of the printer's paper feed mechanism.This project will develop the improved machine parts needed to successfully print high volumes of high-quality multi-colour ceramic transfers. The new parts for and improved toner delivery system and more accurate paper feed system will be iteratively developed using digital modelling and 3D printing or laser cutting. The final designs for these parts will be published as open source CAD files on the RCA Repository, allowing other users to create the parts themselves using the same techniques. The project will also assemble an industry working group to look beyond the currently available technology and define the requirements for a next generation, purpose-built, ceramic pigment digital laser printer. Drawing on the combined expertise of the working group, the project team will draft a comprehensive set of specifications that will respond to the needs of ceramics manufacturers and related industries that could use such machines. It is envisaged that the existence of the working group will also facilitate active partnerships amongst companies in complimentary areas and assist in the dissemination of both projects' outcomes across the members' own professional networks.The open access CAD files will offer immediate material improvements to current printers and the specifications will inform the next generation of specialised digital laser printers. Both these will be available through the RCA's repository and disseminated through a dedicated RCA project webpage. The project team will also present the project's results at trade shows, conferences and ceramic festivals as well as through articles in relevant trade and academic publications.