JetXpert\u6db2\u6ef4\u89b3\u6e2c\u88c5\u7f6e<\/a>, and rightly so. A dropwatcher that reports numbers but the wrong ones is a visualization tool, not a measurement device. This may be sufficient for very early stage inkjet trials, but the distinction becomes clearer once your team starts operating at a high level with lots of data to manage.<\/p>\nFirst, progress tracking. If your volume reading drifts with magnification, distance from printhead, or the operator running the test, you can’t tell whether a parameter change moved the drop or the system accuracy did. This matters a lot in the world of inkjet where hundreds of details down to the humidity of the room impacts jetting performance, and meaningful drop size changes are measured in picoliters. You lose the ability to measure progress over time \u2014 every result has to be re-baselined against whatever the system was reporting that afternoon.<\/p>\n
Second, working with partners or across internal teams. Printhead manufacturers, ink suppliers, and integrators all have their own measurement equipment. If everyone’s numbers drift independently, you can’t compare results, can’t reproduce a vendor’s finding, and can’t hand off a characterized fluid or waveform with any confidence it will measure the same on the other end. Absolute accuracy is what makes a number portable.<\/p>\n
Third, internal datasets. The value of a printhead-and-ink characterization library compounds over time, but only if the numbers are consistent and accurate. Without absolute accuracy, you can’t build a reliable record of which printhead, ink, and waveform combinations produce the drop volume you actually need. Every entry in the database becomes a snapshot rather than a reference. Repeatability gets you consistent readings. Accuracy is what makes those readings mean something outside the moment they were taken.<\/p>\n
We’ve spent a lot of time improving the accuracy of our system over the past two years. In the past, the system was built for accurate measurements of a single spherical drop at a time. Our biggest strides have been improving the accuracy in common jetting situations that aren’t perfect – drops that aren’t quite round, stretched ligaments, and drops accompanied by satellites. In the latest version of our Windows software, these capabilities are found in our AutoDrops and Satellites measurement methods. The names of these methods are the same as past versions of our software, but the robustness behind them has been taken to the next level. This video below showcases how measurements using that method stay consistent across a variety of different drop shapes.<\/p>\n