I want to build my own wall printer from scratch.
I would like to use off the shelf printhead such as EPSON I3200-U1.
What are the steps required to drive a printhead?
I can't find any documentation on its communication protocol. In fact I searched for any printhead communication protocol documentation and could not find any.
You'll need a peizo electric head....bubble jet thermal heads will not be able to function for.long with the type of ink and pigmentation a wall printer shod use.
I have done quite a bit of digging myself and have been in the printing industry for over 20 years (industrial specialty inkjet systems....DTG...DTF...Eco Solvent...Dye Sublimation...etc)
Your best bet will probably be an Epson head , for affordability and functionality. Other good printhead manufacturers are Fuji and Spectra.
Here a link that has some helpful info regarding waveforms and color channels. Epson is VERY tight with tbe true functionality of their heads, its a very interesting field.
Hopefully you can get some good info from this link:
https://forum.arduino.cc/t/printing-head/471102
In my opinion it would easier to use a hodge modge of driver boards that are already on the market, develop a proper recirculating ink system with degassing and and low and high vacuum components to stabilize ink delivery to the heads. I am looking into building a driver for a peizo head as well....but it has been difficult to come across detailed schematic and standard industry coding protocol. If you found something please share with me as well.
The other issue as far as print head communication is that IF you do find good protocol, it likely won't be the same for the next head....due to different ink types, viscosity, and a myriad of other technicalities.
The brand that I think is MOST likely to allow tbe most room for adjustment such as voltage , wavelength and pulse width will be Fuji Kyocera. Their super expensive heads, but are EXTREMLY versatile and are used across ALOT of different substrates , ink types , speeds and processes in the industry.
As far as collecting info about how data is sent to Epson systems... you can find the "Epson Adjustment Program" for just about all of their printers (that is tbe service technician software that allows you to access EEPROM and alot of other variables. Start with a easy one that easy to find.
The Epson R1390 or Epson L1800 systems are very popular right now for DTF printing....Google "Epson L1800 Adjustmet Program" if you look hard enough you'll find a free copy. Down load it , go to your C drive , open folder named "Adjustmet Program" ( folder is automatically created when you download the program)....inside that folder you'll find a file named bkdata.eep , pop it open and dig through tbe code. The L1800 is one of the more simple heads on the market....it's slow ...6 colors....1.5 pica liter nozzles. The Spectra, Kyocera and Fuji heads are much more complicated....with broader ranges of versatility and possible adjustments.
If you want ideas on how to.properly build tbe physical and mechanical aspects of a vertical printer.. I can definitely hp you there.
I'm fairly new to the coding and development side of things. I do have a strong background in understanding cause and effect with various ink types , being used in various production environments, and utilities a myriad of factors and mechanical aspects to insure quality prints.
Basic TCP/IP and PLC ladder and variable logic.
I just want to develop a proprietary driver for single and dual head inkjet systems. Specifically utilizing the Epson I3200 A1 printhead.
If I could get some help with building proper communication (which I/O chips to use....how best to write data for fast 16 bit transferring and interpretation....I think I can figure out tbe actual PCB layout and I know I can do tbe overall main wiring and other aspects.
The two very basic aspect that determine how a printhead behaves , and how your prints look are the printer driver....and the RIP program that you using to send data to the driver.
You could just buy a Hoson I3200 PCB kit....there all over Alibaba...varying prices. Buy one of those kits....get a AC/DC power supply , a bunch of tubing ....vacuum generators....Kita sensors...ink pumps....float sensors....atleast two encoder scales and corresponding parts for reading them....some proximity sensors...and either build a local PLC system (on board with the printer)....or learn how to adjust tbe Hoson Board manufacturer...and Epson driver code.
It would be ALOT of fun....the wall printers are cool af.after.
If print speed isn't an issue for you...and you don't mind a little blur in some spots of your wall prints....(cause I have never seen a wall that is exactly 90° ....then we could essentially take any piezo electric printhead system ...tilt the print axis 90° , build a simple straight rail system for carriage to run on ( find rail with exact outside circumference of original rail) just buy a 8 ft peice....buy a encoder scale and reader around 6 ft in length, then we could go into print driver and make neccesary changes for "paper width" and a few other variables. Would probably need a slightly bigger carriage motor than original....I bet honestly a very BASIC wall printer, that prints super slow....and doesn't adjust for wall deformities could be completed in a 2 or 3 weeks. Maybe throw a UV flash on the carriage ....fill the system with UV ink ....and pow....we got prints on the walls. To really fine tune it and create a viable product ....it would likely take atleast 6-7 months ....label it up....and sell baby sell.