Enhancing Production Line Versatility with Modular Dispensing Systems for Ultra-Precise Applications
Modular dispensing systems can help manufacturers remain lean, flexible, and scalable while making high-quality components for a diverse range of industries.
In today’s world of manufacturing, attributes like precision, flexibility, and scalability can be the route to success in fast-paced industries like consumer electronics and healthtech. One way to attain these attributes is the use of modular dispensing systems—compact and versatile manufacturing tools that can be installed in various configurations and quantities to suit the manufacturer’s needs. This article explores how modular dispensing systems can form the backbone of production lines both today and in the near future, enabling versatility in ultra-precise applications.
An Overview of Dispensing Technologies
Microdispensing or microprinting technologies are key to the production of complex parts with microscale features. These production technologies have the ability to dispense functional, conductive, and nanomaterial inks as well as other high-value materials with the highest levels of precision, with applications in areas like consumer electronics, biomedical devices, sensors, automotive components, and beyond. Three of the main (micro)dispensing technologies are:
- Inkjet printing: A non-contact method that ejects picoliter-scale droplets through thermal or piezoelectric actuation, providing high resolution and scalability but requiring careful ink formulation to ensure proper viscosity and surface tension.
- Aerosol jet printing: A technique highly suited to printing conductive traces that uses a focused gas stream to deposit ultrafine droplets, enabling high-resolution patterns with a broader range of ink viscosities than inkjet printing.
- Micro-extrusion: An affordable and versatile method that uses pressure to dispense ink through fine nozzles, allowing direct writing of highly viscous materials, including nanoparticle-laden conductive inks and biomaterials.
Each of these technologies can be used for the construction of microscale features, though each has its pros and cons in terms of resolution, material compatibility, and speed. For example, inkjet is ideal for high-speed, precise patterning of low-viscosity inks, while aerosol jet and micro-extrusion can handle higher viscosity inks and are therefore better for 2.5D and 3D applications.
These dispensing technologies have a number of important uses, and their deployment is on the rise across many diverse industries. For instance, they provide a highly effective means of producing flexible electronics, wearable sensors, and biomedical implants.
Modular Dispensing Systems on the Production Line
We have seen why dispensing systems can be advantageous for manufacturers of high-value components with microscale features. However, the configuration of those systems can be as important as the core technology. Modular dispensing systems—flexible and small-scale machines that can be reconfigured and redeployed more easily than large standalone systems—offer a high level of versatility in industries like consumer electronics where manufacturing strategies can change in an instant. Furthermore, these modular systems are still able to execute the ultra-precise deposition of conductive inks, coatings, and other functional materials.
One key advantage of modular dispensing systems is their adaptability. In the industries we have mentioned, production lines need to accommodate a variety of products, materials, and process requirements, often over very short periods of time. Modular dispensing units allow manufacturers to easily rejig their production line, reducing downtime and setup costs and allowing for rapid responses to supply chain fluctuations and market trends. This flexibility is also helpful for rapid prototyping and mass customization.
Another benefit of using modular systems for microdispensing is scalability—the ability to increase production quantities without finding an entirely new production site. As demand grows, additional modular dispensing modules can be integrated into a production line without overhauling the entire system. And by scaling up operations incrementally, manufacturers do not face sudden and significant cost increases—although researchers have emphasized the importance of careful planning and use of digital technologies such as computer-based simulations to ensure the success of modular systems when scaling up.[1] As the scale of production increases, the greater number of modular microdispensing units may be synchronized with robotics and vision systems to ensure coordination and precision.
Using a chain of individual modular dispensing systems can also be a benefit in terms of machine maintenance. Instead of causing the shutdown of an entire production line, a faulty module can be replaced or serviced individually, minimizing disruption. Although not exclusive to modular systems, dispensing systems may also include smart sensors and feedback mechanisms for real-time process monitoring, further minimizing faults and machine downtime.[2]
Because of these important advantages in terms of adaptability, scalability, and maintenance, modular dispensing systems can greatly improve production efficiency, reduce costs, and enable quick changes of strategy in modern manufacturing. And the ability of modular systems to integrate seamlessly into automated workflows is making them an increasingly important technology for ultra-precise applications.
Advantages of the XTPL UPD System
The XTPL Ultra-Precise Dispensing (UPD) module is a cutting-edge microdispensing system designed for high-precision material deposition in advanced manufacturing. Its unique high-pressure extrusion capabilities make it highly advantageous for modern production lines, particularly in terms of flexibility, scalability, and integration with automated processes.
One of the key advantages of the XTPL UPD module is its exceptional resolution, which enables the deposition of conductive and functional inks, as well as other useful and high-viscosity materials, with feature sizes as small as 0.5 µm (ultra-high resolution mode). These inks can be printed onto a wide range of substrates, including glass, silicon, flexible polymers, and metallic surfaces. This ultra-fine precision and versatility is essential for the production of next-generation electronics, including flexible hybrid electronics, interconnect packaging, IoT systems, antennas, and biosensors. And unlike some conventional inkjet methods, XTPL’s technology allows for direct printing of high-viscosity inks without the need for additional curing steps.
Those are just some of the advantages of the core XTPL technology, but the Ultra-Precise Dispensing System in particular, being essentially a standalone printhead that can be installed in various production line configurations, offers significant benefits in terms of production line flexibility and can be integrated into diverse continuous/flow production environments.The module is also highly scalable, making it suitable for small-scale research and prototyping or, at the other end of the scale, high-volume manufacturing of ultra-precise components.
Other key advantages of the UPD module in terms of production line versatility include:
- Options for single or multi-nozzle configurations to suit different production needs
- Rapid cartridge and nozzle changeover
- API connection for process control integration
- Expert engineering support to facilitate smoother integration
Another standout feature of XTPL’s technology is its ability to perform open defect repair, allowing manufacturers to correct defects in microcircuits or conductive traces without discarding entire components, reducing material waste and costs. This and other advantages make the Ultra-Precise Dispensing module a high-value proposition when it comes to manufacturing precision, flexibility, and scalability.
Production Lines of the Future
Technologies like the XTPL Ultra-Precise Dispensing (UPD) module represent a step toward the future of high-precision, adaptable manufacturing. However, this microscale production technology is not the end point. As these systems continue to evolve, production lines will likely become even more precise, versatile, and efficient, bringing about new possibilities in areas like microelectronics and biotechnology.
So what might a modular production line of the future look like? Comprising many dispensing modules that can be deployed and reconfigured at will, such a production line might incorporate AI-driven process control, where real-time feedback and machine learning optimize dispensing parameters dynamically. Additionally, the combination of microscale dispensing with other manufacturing technologies could enable the seamless production of conductive, insulating, and functional materials in a single automated workflow.
There are other exciting possibilities, too. Manufacturers in the near future could harness the existing defect repair capabilities of technology like UPD and combine it with inline defect detection and self-healing capabilities, further enhancing yield and reliability. Defective circuits, sensors, or conductive traces could be repaired in real time by a dedicated repair system based on machine vision prompts, rather than programmed manually.
Whatever the future of modular factories looks like, it is clear that technologies such as UPD will drive the next generation of smart, automated production, where increased adaptability, precision, and efficiency will help to push the boundaries of modern manufacturing.
Resources
[1] Alwi M, Kajang G, Irwanto MM. Implementing Modular Layouts to Increase Scalability of Production Facilities. Journal of the American Institute. 2025 Jan 30;2(1):64-72.
[2] Soori M, Arezoo B, Dastres R. Internet of things for smart factories in industry 4.0, a review. Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems. 2023 Jan 1;3:192-204.