While testing I realized that the ink that I used caused a lot of corrosion on steel, copper, aluminum, and brass parts:
Corrosion on the Piezo Ring and Contact PlatesSalt Crystals on the Aluminum ProfileCorrosion inside a FittingCorrosion on the Charge Electrode, Deflection Plate, and Gutter
I assume this is caused by the sodium propionate that I used for increasing the conductivity of the ink.
Since the ink has to be conductive for the CIJ printing process, it needs to contain something that makes it this way and since all salts that I know so far can cause corrosion on metals like steel, copper, aluminum, and brass, these materials have to be replaced by other corrosion resistant materials like stainless steel, rubber, and plastic to prevent corrosion of the printer and also contamination of the ink.
So, I searched for corrosion-resistant fittings to replace all the brass fittings and ultimately stumbled across the Reverse Osmosis plumbing system of white fittings of all sorts + white 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch PE tubing.
Old Setup at the bottom, New Setup at the topTop Cap of the Vacuum Tank made out of Stainless Steel with Plastic Fittings
Maybe you should consider electroplating some of the things that cant be replaced by plastic with something more corrosion resistant, or add sacrificial anodes to them. Also, ensuring that there is only one metal (except for any sacrificial anodes) helps prevent galvanic corrosion. Up here in Canada, some people have electronic protection to help prevent rust on their vehicles from salt, but how well these work I'm not sure, additionally the charge pumping of these rust preventers might be a problem for this particular system.
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Maybe you should consider electroplating some of the things that cant be replaced by plastic with something more corrosion resistant, or add sacrificial anodes to them. Also, ensuring that there is only one metal (except for any sacrificial anodes) helps prevent galvanic corrosion. Up here in Canada, some people have electronic protection to help prevent rust on their vehicles from salt, but how well these work I'm not sure, additionally the charge pumping of these rust preventers might be a problem for this particular system.
Are you sure? yes | no
Good idea, over the last days I could replace almost every metal part with stainless steel and switched to a less corrosive salt.
Maybe I can electroplate the remaining parts like the feedback antenna and piezo ring.
Are you sure? yes | no