Nordson EFD's PICO XP jetting system targets a specific dispensing problem: two jet valves with identical settings do not always deposit the same amount of fluid. The company describes the system as "extremely precise (XP)" non-contact micro-dispensing, and says its "proprietary self-regulating calibration technology" keeps results repeatable from valve to valve, after maintenance, and as temperatures rise or fall.
The cause is mechanical. According to Nordson EFD, even a slight change in the tolerance of a jet valve's internal geometry can alter dispensing performance. That is also why output can shift after a fluid body is removed, cleaned, and returned to the valve. PICO XP is built to control for those fluid body tolerance variations.
For process and quality engineers, the relevant point is what happens on the line after routine service. A deposit that drifts once a fluid body goes back on the valve is a process variable someone has to chase. Nordson EFD pitches the calibration as the way to hold that variable fixed.
Speed and stroke are the other listed specs. Nordson EFD lists high-speed jetting up to 1000Hz and micron-level stroke, and says the speed increases production throughput. The company also publishes a comparison against its standard PICO system that measures variability in deposit weight as jet valve temperatures rise.
PICO XP is one of two piezoelectric jetting valves in the lineup, alongside PICO Pµlse. Nordson EFD publishes a guide on choosing between the two, and a separate primer on pneumatic versus piezoelectric jetting.
The company's application library for its dispensing products includes a case study of an automotive PCB supplier that raised yields with EFD precision conformal coating dispensers.
