Brother MFC260C Service Manual page 66

Damping
Without damping, ink pressure fluctuations directly affect the size of ink-jet head droplets, risking
lower print quality.
Each damper assembly has two chambers. The one on the right in the illustration below has a loose
film across its top and serves as a damper. The film immediately flexes in and out in response to
falls and rises in pressure, adjusting the chamber volume to counteract pressure fluctuations in the
ink supply tubes.
Left chamber
Air buffering
Liquid ink contains trace amounts of air. These molecules coalesce into air bubbles as the
piezoelectric ceramic actuators vary the pressure on the ink in the ink-jet head channel. (See the
illustration on page 3-12.) Removing as many of these bubbles as possible before the ink reaches
the ink-jet head is essential to maintaining proper print quality. The above illustration shows how
the damper assemblies provide air buffers, the chambers on the left, for consolidating these air
bubbles away from the ink-jet head and vent flow paths for purging them at regular scheduled
intervals.
This loose film flexes in and out in
Film
response to changes in ink pressure.
(DamperFunc)
3-15
Confidential