Smaller (therefore) cheaper ink/paste options

[a2retro]

Hi I have purchased ink/paste in the past and because my machine gets inconsistent use my consumables are aging out. The the last set i bought were not even opened before they expired. Would you please add half and quarter volumes of both paste and ink to your store?

[pwn3du]

+1 on this. My machine also gets sporadic use. I have flurries of high activity then lengthy downtimes as I work on designing the next project. I too could really benefit from either longer life inks or less expensive refills so that I’m not having to hold off using the machine until I have enough designs to make it worth getting a full size ink refill.

[dson]

I have the same issue. Our printer gets sporadic use – may sit for 3-4 months then get used extensively for a month. Lower volume ink and paste supplies would help with the amount of material that ages out.

[a2retro]

Would someone from Voltera please - weigh-in on this suggestion? @jazozaya ?

[jazozaya]

Hi @a2retro, @pwn3du, @dson

Looks like this message slipped through the cracks - I apologize. Are you looking primarily for smaller inks or smaller solder pastes? Or both?

I just chatted with our production lead - looks like smaller ink cartridges are in the pipeline, but we can’t commit on a release date yet since it depends on the manufacturer a bit. Half and quarter volumes makes sense to us as well.

We will probably offer smaller ink cartridges before we offer smaller solder paste cartridges. From my experience, solder paste can last much longer than the stated shelf life. Just ensure the nozzle is purged before using since the paste in the nozzle will start to dry even if it is stored in the fridge.

Regards,

[cborn]

We have the same problem here. When someone wants to use the machine, they want to use it now, so you have to struggle with aged consumables and dried out nozzles, which doesn’t make for a good experience.
Then you have to compare waiting for a week for new consumables at a $90 shipping fee, or waiting a week for 10 professionally made double-sided plated through boards, drilled, milled, silk-screened with solder-resist, at $20 delivered.

Not sure what the answer is, if there was some sort of capsule system perhaps where you could buy a set of low-volume long-life units, nozzle included, that you break out and know will work exactly the same each time. Or perhaps a capsule for the ink/paste, and a post-purge procedure, maybe the machine moves to a waste-dump area and runs a cleaning solution through the nozzle?

[AlanDewey]

Three thoughts from a very old person, but new user of the Voltera.

1. Find some type of container that can be hermetically sealed and fill it with pressurized something-or-other gas that will make the ink last 2 years or so. Then when the ink is needed, the user can break a seal or unscrew the thing or whatever and then the ‘normal aging’ process begins. It would add significantly to the sales price of an ink, but for some users, would reduce their cost and wait time.

2. Invent a ‘binary’ ink. One that is not ink until it is needed. Think of binary nerve-gas which is stored as two some-what dangerous chemicals but only becomes super-lethal when the two are put together. Of more realistically, think of two-part epoxy; it last many years on the shelf until you open it, then the regular ‘shelf life’ begins. If someone can invent a ‘fool-proof’ set of chemicals that the end-user makes into ink when needed… again, it would significantly raise the sales price, but would lower the customer’ cost in many situations.

3. Can someone invent “optically cured conductive ink” ? I have almost 100% converted to ‘optically cured adhesives’. You know the kind you put where you need it, get things lined up perfectly, and then expose with ultra-violet led and it cures fast. We used to expose PCBs with UV lamps, so that would be nothing new to us oldold people.

Optically cured conductive ink, once invented, would be much faster to cure than the present method of baking.

[a2retro]

@jazozaya Any updates on smaller paste options? I need to order more paste now.