Multi-million pound grant boosts Ink-jet research
|
Professor Ian Hutchings |
It may sound like science fiction, but industry could soon be producing complex electronics and hi-tech gadgetry simply by pressing the print button.
A consortium, led by the University of Cambridge, has been awarded a multi-million pound grant to investigate how ink-jet print technology could revolutionise manufacturing processes.
The group, headed by Professor Ian Hutchings of the IfM, has been awarded £5m by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The consortium comprises collaborators from two other Cambridge departments, the Universities of Durham and Leeds, and a group of nine companies which include the major UK players in the ink-jet sector.
The £5m award, with additional funding from industry, will support a five-year programme of research to study the formulation, jetting and deposition of specialist printing fluids, and develop an overall process model. This work will improve the robustness of industrial ink-jet printing and help companies develop new applications for the technology.
