Parametric investigation of flexographic printing processes for R2R printed electronics

Abstract

Recent technological advancement in flexographic printing has allowed flexography to catch up with other R2R processes such as gravure printing in the printed electronics field. However, there are many process parameters involved in flexography that can affect the print quality. This work attempted to achieve finer line printing compared to the current 45–100 µm printed line width range of flexography by manipulating and studying these process parameters. A design of experiments was conducted to investigate the influence and interaction of various process parameters such as anilox volume, anilox force and printing force on the printed line width. After identifying the key process parameter from the design of experiments, another in-depth study of the key process parameter was conducted to further investigate how printed line width was affected. The results showed that the printing plate was elastically deformed with a range of 50–400 N printing forces. Beyond the 400-N printing force, the printing plate experienced plastic deformation.