Resonant Excitation of Magnetostrictive Driven Print Wires for High-Speed Printing

A developmental resonant wire printing device utilizing ultrasonic vibration is described and results given on some preliminary work on the resonant excitation of magnetostrictive print wires. This paper discusses the characteristics of the magnetostrictive material, the transducer design and some special methods of measuring small, rapid mechanical motion. In the present test setup of the printing device, impact rates up to 1400/sec were obtained.