Abstract
We developed a unique inline viscometer for continuous ink jet printers. The viscometer consists of a plunger moving vertically in a cylinder, a solenoid for raising the plunger by electromagnetic force, and a proximity sensor for detecting the position of the plunger. A viscosity can be calculated automatically by a free-fall time of the plunger from the top of the cylinder to the bottom. As the free-fall time is proportion to the viscosity of liquid, we can find the viscosity easily. Furthermore we cleared the factors of variation in measurements. And we designed the viscometer so that standard deviation was less than 5% of the measurement value.
