A versatile 3D-printed droplet-on-demand generator is presented for laboratory use in droplet impact and similar experiments. The design described and tested in the present work is modeled off of an existing design [Harris et al., Exp. Fluids 56, 83 (2015)] but is tested with an extended range of working fluids, and the manufacturing process is greatly simplified by 3D-printing the principal components. The present device is tested with de-ionized water and water-glycerol mixtures and was reliably able to produce single droplets-on-demand of diameters 0.65-1.32 mm with an overall variability of less than 1%. The computer-aided design (CAD) files, parts list, sample software, and circuit layout are available with this note, allowing for the device to be readily reproduced or adapted for a wide range of experimental applications.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
November 2018
Brief Report|
November 07 2018
Note: A versatile 3D-printed droplet-on-demand generator
Nikolay Ionkin;
Nikolay Ionkin
a)
School of Engineering, Brown University
, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
Daniel M. Harris
Daniel M. Harris
b)
School of Engineering, Brown University
, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
a)
Current address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA and Department of Physics, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA.
b)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 89, 116103 (2018)
Article history
Received:
August 31 2018
Accepted:
October 18 2018
Citation
Nikolay Ionkin, Daniel M. Harris; Note: A versatile 3D-printed droplet-on-demand generator. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1 November 2018; 89 (11): 116103. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5054400
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
Overview of the early campaign diagnostics for the SPARC tokamak (invited)
M. L. Reinke, I. Abramovic, et al.
An instrumentation guide to measuring thermal conductivity using frequency domain thermoreflectance (FDTR)
Dylan J. Kirsch, Joshua Martin, et al.
A glovebox-integrated confocal microscope for quantum sensing in inert atmosphere
Kseniia Volkova, Abhijeet M. Kumar, et al.
Related Content
Experimentally probing the extremes of droplet-on-demand printability via liquid metals
Physics of Fluids (December 2021)
Drop-on-demand printing of conductive ink by electrostatic field induced inkjet head
Appl. Phys. Lett. (November 2008)
Computational analysis of drop-on-demand drop formation
Physics of Fluids (October 2007)
Printability regimes of pure metals using contactless magnetohydrodynamic drop-on-demand actuation
Physics of Fluids (May 2021)
Drop-on-demand drop formation of polyethylene oxide solutions
Physics of Fluids (October 2011)