Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-020-05103-3

RESEARCH ARTICLE-MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Development of Prediction Model for Conductive Pattern Lines

Generated Through Positive Displacement Microdispensing System
Using Artificial Neural Network
Muhammad Abas1 · Khawar Naeem1 · Tufail Habib1 · Imran Khan2 · Umer Farooq2 · Qazi Salman Khalid1 ·
Khalid Rahman3

Received: 19 November 2019 / Accepted: 2 November 2020

© King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2020

Abstract
In the fabrication of electronic devices, uniform and good quality conductive printed lines are highly desirable. The goal of
the present study is to develop a predictive model for conductive pattern lines produced by the microdispensing system. For
this purpose, an artificial neural network (ANN) based on a feed-forward backpropagation algorithm is adopted. Input process
parameters are pressure, feed rate, and standoff distance, while the output performance parameter (response) is the width
of pattern lines generated through 200 µm and 500 µm nozzles diameter. The dispensing material is carbon paste having
a viscosity of 30 Pa s. Best levels of process parameters are identified to achieve lower width of pattern lines based on the
Taguchi signal-to-noise ratios. The identified best levels are found valid in the ranges of printing process parameters after
training the neural networks. The prediction ability of ANN models is evaluated based on the leave-one-out cross-validation
technique. The results showed that the proposed ANN model accomplished better results in predicting the width of pattern
lines. In addition, the proposed approach is extendable to different materials with a variety of viscosities as well as to other
similar printing techniques.

Keywords Conductive pattern lines · Prediction model · Signal-to-noise ratios · Microdispensing system · Artificial neural
networks

1 Introduction well as other electronic assemblies [7]. Unlike conventional

Microdispensing is one of the non-contact printing tech-
niques which delivers on a wide range of materials to the
desired substrate (planar and conformal) in a controlled man-
ner. The system can form high resolution single and multiple
layers at the micron level [1, 2]. The application ranges from
dispensing of biomedical [2] to dispensing of microstructures
such as planar electrodes for electronic devices like anten-
nas [3], transistors [4], capacitors [5], and flex sensors [6], as
B Khalid Rahman
khalid.rehman@giki.edu.pk
1
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of
Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, KPK 25120, Pakistan
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of
Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, KPK 25120, Pakistan
3
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi, KPK
23640, Pakistan
electronic fabrication techniques, it eliminates complex pro-
cesses such as etching and lithographic masking steps for the
shaping process [6]. It is inexpensive, operationally simple,
and easy to maintain. Major categories of fluid dispensing
systems use various techniques such as time pressure [8],
shutoff valve [9], rotary screw [10], and positive displace-
ment [11]. These methods vary in the way fluid is dispensed
through the nozzle.
In the time pressure technique, the material is dispensed
through a nozzle by directly applying pressure on the top of
the syringe barrel. The quantity of material to be dispensed
depends on the degree and pressure time. This method is
widely used because of the ease of implementation, simple
operation, and also a small volume of fluid can be dispensed.
Dispensing of material is also affected by air volume in the
syringe barrel and the viscosity of the material, which are its
main drawbacks [12]. The shutoff valve technique is similar
to the time-pressure technique but provided with a shutoff
valve at the nozzle end, unlike the time pressure technique.

123

By regulating the valve opening and closing positions, the
flow of material through the nozzle can be easily controlled.
This method applies to a low viscous fluid to mitigate exces-
sive dripping of fluid from the nozzle end [9]. Rapid closing
and opening the valve and clogging of fluid result in a shorter
life span of the valve, making it a costly and inefficient pro-
cess in terms of time usage [9].
Unlike time pressure and shutoff valve technique, the
rotary screw dispensing system consists of a screw in the
syringe barrel. The rapid rotation of the motor-driven screw
causes the material to extrude through the nozzle [10]. It is
a better and improved technique compared to time pressure
and shutoff valve systems. In this technique, the dispensing
of material is affected by fluid viscosity [13].
In a positive displacement dispensing technique, either
piston or plunger is inserted into the syringe barrel. The
movement of the piston causes the fluid to extrude at the
nozzle end. A motor-driven plunger or air pressure can con-
trol the linear motion of the piston. It is considered an exact
volumetric dispensing process [11] because the volume flow
rate does not depend on the properties of dispensing fluid but
depends on the piston movement. Acquiring consistency in
the volume flow rate is a significant issue in this type of dis-
pensing system [11]. In the present study, process parameters
are optimized, and the prediction model is developed for the
positive displacement microdispensing system.
Abas and Rahman [6], in their study, optimized the pro-
cess parameters of a positive displacement microdispensing
system using the Taguchi method. The process parameters
optimized are pressure, feed rate, and standoff distance. The
dispensing material is conductive carbon paste having a vis-
cosity of 35,000 cps. The optimized pattern lines achieved
are in 251–253 µm range. However, no prediction model is
developed in their study. In another study, they optimized
the same process parameters of the microdispensing system
using the Box–Behnken experimental design technique. The
dispensing material used is polyvinyl alcohol-based carbon
paste having a viscosity of 25000 cps. The minimum width
of the pattern line achieved is 198 µm [14]. Chen and Kai
[11] investigated the parameter’s performance of a positive
displacement fluid dispensing system using a MATLAB sim-
ulation model. Based on their findings, fluid volume in the
syringe, needle temperature, fluid properties, and dispensing
time are essential parameters for the consistent performance
of the positive displacement dispensing system. Cao et al.
[15] studied the effect of microdispensing system parame-
ters such as pressure, feed rate, and standoff distance on the
shape of deposited polyimide patterns having a viscosity of
8.1 Pa s. Thickness and width of pattern lines varied from
2–8 µm to 100–400 µm under different controlling parame-
ters. The optimal printing parameters identified are pressure
18 kPa, feed rate 2 mm/s, and standoff distance of 6 µm.
Wang et al. [16] examined the influence of standoff distance,
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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
pressure, feed rate, and viscosity on the morphology of stripe
optical waveguides. Based on their findings, continuity of
the strip is not affected by standoff distance but is affected
by pressure and feed rate. The optimal printing conditions
identified are pressure 5 kPa, standoff distance 9 µm, feed
rate 2 mm/s, and viscosity of 12,100 mPa s. The width of
the pattern lines achieved varied from 40 to 80 µm. Vlasea
and Toyserkani [17] scrutinize the effect of feed rate, flow
rate, and nozzle diameter on the quality of width and height
of pattern lines. Nozzle of 250 µm diameter is used for dis-
pensing. The critical parameters with optimized ranges found
are: feed rate 1–2.5 mm/s, and flow rate 0.1104–2208 µL/s.
Further, the Monte Carlo probabilistic simulation is applied
to predict the width of the pattern line. Sun et al. [18] anal-
ysed the performance parameters such as nozzle diameter,
pressure, and viscosity of dispensing. The viscosity of the
material varied from 40 to 72 psi. The optimal condition iden-
tified is: feed rate 0.6–2 m/s and pressure 3–9 psi. Jiang et al.
[19] optimized the process parameters for the printing of 3D
biological composite based on signal-to-noise (SN) ratio and
grey correlation degree to achieve a better quality of compos-
ite. Based on their findings, the most influencing parameters
affecting quality are the feed rate of the platform, extru-
sion speed of the material, standoff distance, voltage, and
electrospinning concentration at a constant nozzle diameter
of 0.41 mm. Optimal printing conditions identified are the
velocity of a platform 16 mm/s, extrusion speed of material
16 mm/s, the electrospinning concentration 8.7%, standoff
distance 100 mm, and voltage of 19 kV. Bai et al., [20] mod-
elled parameters for the direct ink write technique to fabricate
a high-quality spiral antenna. The desired quality of pattern
lines is achieved by keeping the pressure in the range from
5.1 to 25.7 kPa, while feed rate and internal diameter are kept
constant at 10 mm/s and 100 µm, respectively.
For analysis and optimization of process parameters, the
design of experiments (DoE) is an efficient approach for
limited experimental runs [21]. It can reduce experimen-
tal cost as well as time and provide reliable results [22].
A Taguchi algorithm is one of the DoE techniques devel-
oped by Genichi Taguchi for the quality improvement of
products. Through Taguchi analysis, optimum conditions can
be acquired from accessible parameters [23]. It is a frac-
tional factorial design (orthogonal design), and its purpose
is to manufacture projects that are robust to environmental
conditions, make products that are insensitive to component
variations, and improve the product life and its reliability
[24].
Artificial neural networks are based on an artificial intelli-
gence system that imitates the biological neural system [25].
It can solve ill-defined and complex problems. Compared
to conventional mathematical modelling or simulation pro-
grams, ANN predicts high accuracy and much faster without
lengthy iterative calculations [26]. The network achieves this
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

mapping by learning from a series of input and output data. diction ability of the developed ANN model is validated by
The network learns this data and then applies it to new input leave-one-out cross-validation.
data to predict the output appropriately. The network has
three core layers, an input layer, hidden layers, and an output
layer. Each layer contains several neurons connected through
2 Materials and Methods
weights—the weights adjusted during the learning phase to
predict output precisely. The number of neurons in the input
2.1 Experimental Setup
and output layer depends on the number of input and output
parameters, while neurons in hidden layers are arbitrary and
Figure 1a illustrates a schematic of the designed positive
adjusted according to the best-fit model [27].
displacement microdispensing system. The present dispens-
Many studies have been conducted to optimize parame-
ing system is also used in previous studies [6, 14, 34]. This
ters and construct a predictive model for various processes
dispensing system integrates a reciprocating air compressor,
using Taguchi-based ANN. According to Prabhu et al. [28],
pneumatic controller, dispenser, and computer control trans-
the Taguchi design of experiment techniques is proved to
lational stage. The camera is provided to analyse the flow
be a useful tool for constructing neural networks for sur-
behaviour of fluid through the nozzle tip. The reciprocating
face roughness to predict CNT nano-based grinding process.
air compressor provides pressurized air. The flow regulator
In their study, they trained the experimental values through
regulates the pressurized air, according to requirements. A
feed-forward artificial neural networks with the Levenberg—
solenoid valve is used as a switching device to examine on/off
Marquardt algorithm. Further, the fuzzy logic system is
time of airflow. A syringe barrel of 5 cc contains the fluid
applied to govern the efficiency of each design parame-
below the piston, which is pressurized through the air, forc-
ter. Yang et al. [23] construct a predictive model of a CO2
ing the fluid through the nozzle. The syringe barrel can be
laser cutting experiment based on an integrated approach of
moved in a “z” direction, while the stage containing the sub-
Taguchi and ANN. Lin and Chou [29] developed a prediction
strate can move only in the “x–y” direction and controlled
model of near-field photolithographic fabrication that accu-
through a computer program. The feed rate is the velocity
rately predicts the experimental results of the process. Zeydan
with which the substrate moves during dispensing. Standoff
[30] improved the process conditions in acrylic fibres dye-
distance is a distance between the nozzle tip and the substrate.
ing using the grey-based Taguchi neural networks approach.
Figure 1b shows an actual dispensing system. Figure 2a, b
Ravichandran et al. [31] constructed the Taguchi-based ANN
shows printing on a printed circuit board and low dense PET
prediction model to analyse the tensile strength of adhesive-
substrate. Figure 2c shows dispensing moments at nozzle
bonded single lap joints. Sanjari et al. [32] optimize the radial
tip of 200 µm and 500 µm captured by a high-speed cam-
force and strain inhomogeneity in the radial forging process
era. Commercial conductive carbon paste (Guang-zhou Print
using ANN and Taguchi method. Abdul et al. [33] devel-
Area Trading Co., Ltd) is used as a dispensing material hav-
oped the prediction model for the shrinkage behaviour of
ing a viscosity of 30 Pa s.
injection moulded of high-density polyethylene parts using
the integrated approach of Taguchi and feed-forward neural
networks trained with backpropagation. 2.2 Experimental Design and Response
However, there is ample literature on the application of the Measurement
Taguchi-based ANN method for the development of the pre-
dictive model for various manufacturing processes. However, Experimental runs are planned based on Taguchi experimen-
no study is recorded to the best of the author’s knowledge tal design because it provides the shortest possible orthogonal
regarding the microdispensing system and is therefore the array design (matrix design) [35, 36]. In the present study,
focus of the current research. Moreover, the present study is three levels are set based on screening experiments and litera-
also intended to consistently dispense highly viscous pastes ture review for each nozzle of 200 µm and 500 µm diameters
through narrow nozzles and to improve the quality of printed as shown in Tables 1 and 2. The nozzles are selected based
patterns, thereby achieving the desired width of patterns on their availability. As three levels are set for each input
lines without distortion and waste. For this aim, the vari- parameter, so the shortest possible orthogonal array L9, is
ance (ANOVA) analysis is performed to identify the most found suitable to schedule experimental runs for each noz-
influential factors affecting the width of pattern lines. Signal- zle, as shown in Table 3. The average width of pattern lines
to-noise ratio is computed to identify the best levels of is calculated using an optical microscope. For instance, the
printing process parameters to achieve the minimum width of optical image of the average width of pattern lines obtained
pattern lines. Artificial neural network is trained to develop for experimental run order 3 (for each nozzle) is shown in
a prediction model for a width of pattern lines, and the pre- Fig. 3. The average value of the width of pattern lines for
each experimental run is shown in Table 3.

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 Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

Fig. 1 a Schematic of a positive displacement microdispensing system. b Actual setup

Fig. 2 a Printing on printed circuit board. b Printing on PET substrate. c Dispensing moments at the nozzle of 200 µm and 500 µm by a high-speed
camera

Fig. 3 Optical microscopic

image of an average width of
pattern lines. a 252 µm for
200 µm nozzle diameter and
b 523 µm for 500 µm nozzle
diameter

Table 1 Levels for input parameters for 200 µm nozzle 2.3 Methodology for Development of the Prediction
Input parameters Symbol Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Model

Pressure (MPa) P 0.38 0.45 0.52 The Taguchi-based signal-to-noise (SN) ratios measure the
Feed rate (mm/s) F 1 1.5 2 quality characteristic of response by measuring the devia-
Standoff distance (mm) S 0.2 0.5 0.8 tion from desired values [6, 41]. The most common criteria
associated with particular quality measurement are lower-
the-better (Eq. 1) and larger-the-better (Eq. 2).
 
Table 2 Levels for input parameters for 500 µm nozzle 1 2
n
SNi  −10 log10 y (1)
Input parameters Symbol Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 n t t
Pressure (MPa) P 0.32 0.38 0.45  
1 1
n
Feed rate (mm/s) F 1 1.5 2 SNi  −10 log10 (2)
n t yt2
Standoff distance (mm) S 0.2 0.6 1

where i is the experiment number, t is the trial number, n is

the number of trials for an experiment i. yt is the behavioural
characteristic of a given experiment.

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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

S/N ratios for width of

Taguchi-based SN ratios provide the best levels based on

pattern lines (500 µm

the quality characteristic of response but unable to give gen-
eralize prediction models [35]. So for this aim, an artificial
neural network (ANN) is trained to developed prediction

− 54.78
− 54.40
− 54.26
− 54.99
− 55.12
− 54.53
− 55.30
− 55.02
− 54.33
models and also to optimize the printing process parameters.
nozzle) ANN architecture comprises of input, hidden, and output
layers. Each layer has nodes called neurons. Every neuron
has connections called weights with every neuron in input,
Width (µm) of pattern
lines (500 µm nozzle)

hidden, and output layers. Additionally, each neuron has a

bias and depends on the input signal’s level that makes it
work or not works. The main goal of a neural network is to
map the relationship between input and output parameters.
The mapping can be achieved by first learning the series of
548
525
517
562
570
533
582
564
521
available data (or past examples), defining the corresponding
input and output for the given system under investigation. The
S/N ratios for width of
pattern lines (200 µm

network then predicts the appropriate output for new input

data based on what it has learned from past data. In this way,
a mathematical relationship is developed between input and
output data.
− 48.50
− 48.20
− 48.03
− 48.76
− 48.88
− 48.30
− 49.25
− 48.79
− 48.10
nozzle)

Consider a neural network architecture with ni neurons

in the input layer, nh neurons in one hidden layer, and one
output neuron. The relationship between response, ŷ p of the
Width (µm) of pattern
lines (200 µm nozzle)

network, and input xi can be expressed as Eq. 3:

n 

nh  i
ŷ p  wj f w ji xi + b j (3)
j1 i1
266
257
252
274
278
260
290
275
254
Table 3 Taguchi experimental design and calculated S/N ratios for 200 µm and 500 µm nozzle

where w ji is the weight of the connection between ith neuron

of the input layer and jth neuron of the hidden layer, f is the
transformation function of the hidden layer, and b j is the bias
Standoff distance

of jth neuron. The weights and bias can be adjusted during

the training process of the network. The primary purpose of
training is to find the best set of weights and bias so that the
(mm)

network can predict ŷ p as close as possible to known data

1
2
3
2
3
1
3
1
2

value y. This can be done by reducing the sum of square error

and can be determined using Eq. 4:
Feed rate (mm/s)


m
SSE  ( ŷk − yk )2 (4)
k1
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3

where ŷk is the output computed by the network, yk is the

Pressure (MPa)

corresponding output in the training data set.

There are several learning algorithms available for training
ANN models, but the most popular is gradient descent (gd),
Gauss–Newton (GM), and Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) [37].
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3

These are backpropagation algorithms, in which parameters

Experimental run order

such as weights and biases move in the opposite direction

to error. However, the gradient descent approaches linearly
(first-order) to minimum error, so its convergence is low
and is not suitable for complex problems [38]. On the other
hand, GM and LM have quadratic convergence properties,
making it relatively faster [37]. In the present study, LM
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

123

is adopted because it has high prediction ability, conver-
gence, and generalization, and also it is one of the correct
approaches compared to other training functions [39]. LM
algorithm uses an approximation of the Hessian matrix in
Newton-like update rule as expressed in Eq. 5:
(5)
where J is the Jacobian matrix containing first derivatives of
the network errors concerning the weights, I is the identity
matrix, is the damping factor, and is adjusted during each
course of the iteration, and e is a vector of network errors.
3 Results and Discussions
3.1 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
The effect of printing process parameters on the width of
pattern lines is studied through ANOVA at a 95% confidence
interval. The results are summarized in Table 4. It depicts that
the feed rate is the most influential factor affecting the width
of pattern lines generated through 200 µm nozzle diameter
followed by pressure as their P values are less than 0.05, and
% contributions are higher, i.e., 52.27% and 24.71%. Stand-
off distance is found insignificant as its P value is higher than
0.05, and has a least % contribution of 4.61%. For the width of
pattern lines generated through 500 µm nozzle, the feed rate
is found significant with a %contribution of 54.08%. How-
ever, pressure and standoff distance are found insignificant,
with a % contribution of 21.67% and 2.07%.
The adequacy of ANOVA is analysed using residuals
(error) plots for normality and versus fit (constant variance
assumption). For the residuals to be normally distributed, the
test statistics value of Anderson–Darling (AD) needs to be
low, and its P value must greater than 0.05. Figure 4 shows
that for both widths of pattern lines, the AD values are low,
and their P values are higher than 0.05, showing that the
residuals are normally distributed. Further, the verses fit in
Fig. 5 illustrates that the residuals for both widths of pattern
lines are evenly distributed about the fitted line and indicate
no increasing or decreasing trend, showing that residuals sat-
isfy the constant variance assumption.
The reduced linear regression model is developed for
both widths of pattern lines generated through 200 µm and
500 µm nozzles by removing the insignificant model terms
(using stepwise regression), including main effect and inter-
action terms as expressed in Eq. 6 and 7.
w (200 µm)  252.2 + 104.8 × pressure − 21.33 × feed rate
(6)
w(500 µm)  607.4 − 40.50 × feed rate (7)
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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
3.2 Taguchi-Based Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios calculated for each experimen-
tal run for both widths of pattern lines generated through
200 and 500 µm nozzles diameter are shown in Table 3. The
higher S/N ratios depict excellent performance of response
unrelatedly to a type of S/N ratio, i.e., “smaller the better”.
Higher S/N ratios observed for both widths of pattern lines
are − 48.03 and − 54.26 at experimental run 3. However, to
achieve the best levels, average S/N ratios are computed at
each level for each factor, and the largest average S/N ratios
will correspond to the best level. Table 5 shows that the best
combination of parameters to achieve lower width of pattern
lines generated through 200 µm nozzle diameter are pressure
at level 1 (0.38 MPa), feed rate at level 3 (2 mm/s), and stand-
off distance at level 2 (0.5 mm), as high S/N ratio values are
observed at these levels. Similar best levels are observed for
the width of pattern lines generated through 500 µm nozzle,
i.e., are pressure at level 1 (0.32 MPa), feed rate at level 3
(2 mm/s), and standoff distance at level 2 (0.6 mm).
3.3 Artificial Neural Network Optimization
to Develop a Prediction Model
In order to develop a predictive model based on artificial
neural network (ANN) for a width of pattern lines gener-
ated through 200 µm and 500 µm nozzle diameters, proper
selection of a number of hidden layers, number of neu-
rons in a hidden layer, activation or transformation function,
number of iterations and learning rate are essential. So
for this purpose, the available data set is divided into two
sets. The first one is the training subset, which is used for
updating the weights and biases using leave-one-out (LOO)
cross-validation technique. In this technique, one data set is
removed from the training data set, and the network is trained
with the remaining data set (i.e., 25 in the present study). Then
the trained network is used to predict the removed data set.
The training process is repeated for each data point in the
training set, and mean square error is computed each time
using Eq. 4. The minimization of mean square error is used
as criteria for the optimized ANN model. The second sub-
set is the validation subset, which is used for performance
evaluation of the ANN model.
As the data based on Taguchi orthogonal array design L9
in Table 3 are minimal to train through neural networks, so
additional experiments are performed to construct Taguchi
orthogonal array design L27 within a defined range level
as shown in Tables 1 and 2 for both 200 µm and 500 µm
nozzles. However, the best levels identified (i.e., the pressure
at level 1, feed rate at level 3, and standoff distance at level 2)
based on S/N ratio are reserved for checking the prediction
capability of the final ANN model. New experimental runs
are shown in Table 6.
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

Table 4 ANOVA Width of

pattern lines generated through Source DF Adj SS Adj MS F Value P Value % contribution
200 µm and 500 µm nozzles
Width of pattern lines (200 µm nozzle)
Pressure (MPa) 1 322.67 322.67 6.71 0.049 24.71
Feed rate (mm/s) 1 682.67 682.67 14.19 0.013 52.27
Standoff distance (mm) 1 60.17 60.17 1.25 0.314 4.61
Error 5 240.5 48.1
Total 8 1306
Width of pattern lines (500 µm nozzle)
Pressure (MPa) 1 984.32 984.32 4.88 0.078 21.67
Feed rate (mm/s) 1 2456.33 2456.33 12.19 0.017 54.08
Standoff distance (mm) 1 94.01 94.01 0.47 0.525 2.07
Error 5 1007.64 201.53
Total 8 4542.3

Table 5 Optimal levels for a

width of pattern lines generated Average S/N ratios for width of pattern Average S/N ratios for width of pattern
through 200 µm and 500 µm lines (200 µm nozzle) lines (500 µm nozzle)
nozzles Pressure Feed rate Standoff distance Pressure Feed rate Standoff distance

Level 1 − 48.24* − 48.83 − 48.53 − 54.48* − 55.02 − 54.78

Level 2 − 48.65 − 48.62 − 48.35* − 54.88 − 54.85 − 54.58*
Level 3 − 48.71 − 48.14* − 48.72 − 54.88 − 54.38* − 54.89
Best Level 1 3 2 1 3 2
* shows highest value of S/N ratios

Table 6 New experimental runs

for Artificial Neural Network Exp No. Pressure (MPa) Feed rate (mm/s) Standoff Width (µm) Width (µm)
training distance (mm) 200 µm nozzle 500 µm nozzle

10 1 1 2 265 546
11 1 1 3 264 544
12 1 2 1 259 534
13 1 2 3 256 527
14 1 3 1 255 525
15 2 1 1 276 569
16 2 1 3 272 560
17 2 2 1 283 583
18 2 2 2 280 577
19 2 3 2 258 531
20 2 3 3 257 529
21 3 1 1 290 597
22 3 1 2 287 591
23 3 2 2 273 562
24 3 2 3 271 558
25 3 3 1 257 529
26 3 3 3 253 521

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Fig. 4 Normality plots of residuals for the width of pattern lines generated through a 200 µm and b 500 µm
Fig. 5 Versus fit plots of residuals for the width of pattern lines generated through a 200 µm and b 500 µm
There is no exact procedure to determine the number of
hidden layers in the architecture of neural networks. Mostly
it is designed by trial and error method [40]. However, in
most cases, one hidden layer is sufficient [41]. Therefore in
the present study, three layers of neural network architecture
are selected, i.e., one input layer, one hidden layer, and one
output layer.
For training ANN, Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) algorithm
is utilized. The transfer function such as tangent sigmoid
(tansig) and log sigmoid (logsig) is trained with a different
number of neurons in a hidden layer from 1 to 10 with learn-
ing epochs of 10, in order to get the best transfer function for
the hidden layer in ANN model. The results showed that the
“tansig” transfer function provides the best prediction ability,
so it is adapted to compute hidden layer neuron activities.
To identify the number of neurons required in the hidden
layer for a well predictable ANN model, the MSE is com-
puted for all combinations of neurons in the hidden layer
ranged from 1 to 15, and learning epochs ranged from 1 to
30. The results are summarized in Fig. 6. It shows that the
minimum value of MSE is achieved with ten neurons in the
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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
hidden layer for all learning epochs. Hence the ANN with
ten neurons in the hidden layer is accepted.
With the progression of ANN training, the accuracy of
fitting training data set increases; however, for the new
input data set, the ANN model’s prediction accuracy may
be affected due to overfitting [37]. In overfitting situations,
modelled ANN for known data set makes an accurate pre-
diction, but fails to give a right prediction for a new data set.
So the early stopping technique is applied to avoid overfit-
ting. For this aim, 10 neurons in the hidden layer are trained
with a different number of epochs and MSEs, as illustrated in
Fig. 7. It shows that MSE decreases as the number of epochs
(iterations) increases, however lower MSE is achieved at 10
epoch, and then it increases with an increase in the number
of epochs. Therefore, 10 number of the epoch is designated
for the ANN model.
The prediction ability of the constructed ANN model in
the present study is evaluated based on leave-one-out (LOO)
cross-validation technique because the data set in the present
is small [42]. In the LOO technique, one data point is removed
from the entire data set (total 26 data points), and the network
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

Fig. 6 Effect of an increasing 10 epoch

1.0 10 epoch
number of neurons in a hidden 21 epoch
21 epoch
30 epoch
layer on MSE at different epoch 1.0 30 epoch
for a width of patterns lines 0.8
generated through a 200 µm 0.8
0.6
nozzle diameter and b 500 µm

MSE
0.6

MSE
nozzle diameter
0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2

0.0 0.0

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Neurons Neurons
(a) (b)

Fig. 7 effect of increasing epoch

1.0 1.0
on MSE of a width of patterns
lines generated through
0.8 0.8
a 200 µm nozzle diameter and
b 500 µm nozzle diameter 0.6 0.6
MSE

MSE
0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Epoch Epoch
(a) (b)
Fig. 8 Data set predicted by
LOO cross-validated method for
a width of pattern lines
generated through a 200 µm
nozzle diameter and b 500 µm
nozzle diameter

is trained with the remaining data points (25 data points) and The results show that the ANN model performs adequately
is used to predict the removed data point. The process is in predicting the width of pattern lines generated through
repeated for each data point, and the results are tabulated in 200 µm and 500 µm nozzles.
Table 7. The obtained results show accurate prediction by The prediction ability of the constructed model is evalu-
the proposed ANN model. Also, the experimental (actual) ated based on four statistical parameters, i.e., mean square
values and predicted values in Table 7 are plotted as in Fig. 8, error (MSE) of prediction, the relative error of prediction
it shows that there is good agreement between actual and (REP), mean absolute error (MAE), and the square of corre-
predicted values as most data point fall near the linear fitted lation coefficient (R2 ). They are expressed as:
line, and also the higher value of R2 (R-Sq), i.e., 97.3% justify
good fit of ANN model. To further assess the ANN model’s
adequacy, a new data set (based on experimental runs within 1
n
a defined level range) is predicated, as shown in Table 8. MSE  (yi − ŷi )2 (8)
n
i1

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Table 7 Prediction results of the proposed model by LOO cross- Table 9 Statistical parameters for ANN model evaluation
validation method
Parameters Leave-one-out set (n  Leave-one-out set (n 
Exp 200 µm nozzle diameter 500 µm nozzle diameter 26) for 200 µm nozzle 26) for 500 µm nozzle
No. diameter diameter
Actual Predicted Error Actual Predicted Error
MSE 0.043 0.061
1 266 264 0.752 548 551 − 0.547
REP 1.95 2.23
2 257 260 − 1.167 525 524 0.190
MAE 0.054 0.076
3 252 254 − 0.794 517 519 − 0.387
R2 (%) 97.3 96.4
4 274 272 0.730 562 559 0.534
5 278 280 − 0.719 570 568 0.351
6 260 262 − 0.769 533 535 − 0.375 
7 290 287 1.034 582 585 − 0.515 n
− ŷi )2
100 i1 (yi
8 275 278 − 1.091 564 560 0.709 REP(%)  × (9)
ȳ n
9 254 251 1.181 521 524 − 0.576
10 265 268 − 1.132 546 542 0.733 
n

11 264 266 − 0.758 544 541 0.551 MAE  yi − ŷi (10)
12 259 262 − 1.158 534 530 0.749 i1
13 256 258 − 0.781 527 522 0.949 n
14 255 257 − 0.784 525 526 − 0.190 (yi − ŷi )2
R  1 − i1
2
n (11)
i1 (yi − ȳ)
2
15 276 279 − 1.087 569 566 0.527
16 272 274 − 0.735 560 558 0.357
17 283 286 − 1.060 583 579 0.686
where yi is the actual output of ith data set, ŷi is the predicted
18 280 278 0.714 577 572 0.867
output of the ith data set, and ȳ is the mean of actual data in
19 258 261 − 1.163 531 535 − 0.753
prediction set. The values of these parameters are given in
20 257 259 − 0.778 529 535 − 1.134
Table 9.
21 290 291 − 0.345 597 593 0.670
22 287 288 − 0.348 591 588 0.508
23 273 271 0.733 562 565 − 0.534 3.4 Relationship Between Process Parameters
24 271 274 − 1.107 558 556 0.358 and Width of Pattern Lines
25 257 259 − 0.778 529 528 0.189
26 253 255 − 0.791 521 523 − 0.384 The relationship between printing process parameters and
the width of pattern lines generated through 200 µm and
Table 8 Prediction results for new input data 500 µm nozzle diameters is studied through main effect plots
based on the ANN model, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Fig-
Experiment runs Width of pattern lines
200 µm nozzle diameter
ure 9a shows that the width of pattern lines generated through
200 µm diameter nozzle increases with an increase in pres-
Pressure, feed rate, standoff distance Actual Predicted Error sure. According to Kim et al., [43], the possible reasons are
0.38, 2, 0.5 (optimal levels) 250 248 0.800 higher viscosity of dispensing paste and higher discharge rate
0.40, 1.8, 0.4 253 252 0.395 with an increase in pressure. Figure 9b depicts that the width
0.50, 1.9, 0.7 266 268 − 0.752 of pattern lines decreases with an increase in feed rate. It
0.35, 2, 0.5 233 230 1.288
occurs due to the plastic behaviour of dispensing paste as the
0.42, 1.5, 0.4 238 241 − 1.261
feed rate increases the shear stress on dispensing filament
increase, which causes a reduction of the width of pattern
Width of pattern lines
500 µm nozzle diameter lines [14, 43, 44]. Increase in standoff distance, as shown in
0.32, 2, 0.6 (optimal levels) 520 517 0.577 Fig. 9c, the width of pattern lines decreases. It occurs due
0.34, 1.8, 0.5 526 528 − 0.380 to gravity and the dragging effect of dispensing filament due
0.43, 1.9,0.9 562 565 − 0.534
to its higher viscosity [44]. At lower standoff distance, over
0.34, 2, 0.6 526 522 0.760
dispensing of filament occurs, and therefore the width of
pattern lines increases significantly [44]. Results similar to
0.45, 2, 0.4 542 538 0.738
200 µm nozzle diameter are obtained for the width of pattern
lines generated through 500 µm nozzle diameter, as shown
in Fig. 10.

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Experimental Experimental Experimental

Predicted Predicted Predicted
290 285
290
285 280

Width (μm)

Width (μm)
280
Width (μm)

280 275
275 270
270 270
265
265
260 260
260
255 255
250
250 250
0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Pressure (MPa) Feed rate (mm/s) Standoff distance (mm/s)

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 9 Relationship of a width of pattern lines generated through 200 µm with a pressure, b feed rate and c standoff distance

Experimental Experimental
580 Experimental
Predicted Predicted
580 Predicted
570
570
570
560
Width (μm)
Width (μm)

560

Width (μm)
560
550 550
550
540 540 540
530 530 530

520 520 520

0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Pressure (MPa) Feed rate (mm/s) Standoff distance (mm/s)
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 10 Relationship of the width of pattern lines generated through 500 µm with a pressure, b feed rate and c standoff distance

3.5 Artificial Neural Network Model Prediction the carbon paste’s viscosities and composition are changed.
for Other Combinations of Dispensing Paste Therefore it is concluded that it is an efficient approach for
predicting the responses. It also reduces the efforts and cost of
The developed prediction models of ANN are further experimentations in identifying newly optimized parameters
extended to the same carbon paste by changing its viscosities for other combinations of materials.
and compositions. The viscosity of carbon paste is changed Figure 11 shows optical microscopic images of optimized
by adding solvents such as ethanol, polyethylene glycol, and pattern lines (for pure carbon paste) under optimal processing
acetone. 30 g of carbon paste was mixed with 10 ml of parameters for both 200 µm and 500 µm nozzles. Figure 11a,
each solvent and stirred continuously for 1 h at 100 rpm b depicts that the height of pattern lines for 200 µm nozzle is
and 25 °C. Finally, the viscosity measured for ethanol solu- 20 µm and width of pattern lines is 250 µm under optimized
tion was 26 Pa s, polyethylene glycol was 28.5 Pa s, and parameters, while Fig. 11c, d shows the height of pattern
acetone was 27.5 Pa s. The composition of carbon paste was lines for 500 µm nozzle is 40 µm, and width of pattern lines
changed by adding zirconia in the presence of a solvent such is 520 µm.
as ethanol. 5 g of zirconia was mixed with 8 ml of ethanol Different circuit patterns under optimal parameters are
and stirrer continuously for 1 h at 70 rpm and 25 °C. Then printed on a bendable PET substrate using a 200 µm and
the solution was mixed with carbon paste and stirred continu- 500 µm nozzle, as shown in Fig. 12.
ously for 1 h at 100 rpm and 25 °C. Finally, a modified paste Five samples of each pattern are printed, and their cur-
having a composition of carbon and zirconia was formed, rent–voltage (I–V) characteristics are studied to evaluate its
having a viscosity of 27 Pa s. conductive performance. Figure 13 shows the average I–V
Patterns from modified pastes are printed on the PET characteristics performance of patterns generated from pure
substrate through 200 µm and 500 µm nozzles. Table 10 carbon paste. As it shows good Ohmic behaviour of the
shows the width of pattern lines predicated through ANN, printed patterns, so it can be used for electronic circuit appli-
and those obtained experimentally under optimized param- cations. A minimal fluctuation in resistance is observed for 5
eters and other combinations of parameters. The modelled samples of each pattern, i.e., 7 k ± 0.08 for zigzag patterns
ANN performs excellently in predicting the width of pattern and 9 k ± 0.04 for circular spiral patterns.
lines (for both 200 µm and 500 µm nozzles) even though

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Table 10 Comparison of ANN predicted width with measured width for different carbon paste solutions
Nozzles Parameters Carbon Paste solutions Viscosities Width(µm)

Diameter (µm) Pressure (Pa), Feed rate(mm/s), Pa s ANN Prediction Measured

Standoff distance (mm)

200 Optimized parameters

0.32, 2, 0.6 Ethanol-based 26 205 207
0.35, 2, 0.5 Polyethylene glycol-based 28.5 225 228
0.34, 2, 0.6 Acetone based 27.5 216 218
0.37, 2, 0.5 Zirconia and ethanol-based 27 234 237
Other combination of Parameters
0.40, 1.5, 0.4 Ethanol-based 26 235 238
0.50, 1.5, 0.7 Polyethylene glycol-based 28.5 245 247
0.38, 1.9, 0.7 Acetone based 27.5 230 233
0.45, 1.9, 0.7 Zirconia and ethanol-based 27 264 266
500 Optimized parameters
0.24, 2, 0.8 Ethanol-based 26 480 484
0.26, 2, 0.6 Polyethylene glycol-based 28.5 502 505
0.25, 2, 0.8 Acetone based 27.5 491 494
0.28, 2, 0.6 Zirconia and ethanol-based 27 510 513
Other combination of Parameters
0.27, 1.5, 0.5 Ethanol-based 26 535 537
0.23, 1.3, 0.7 Polyethylene glycol-based 28.5 521 525
0.26, 1.8, 0.8 Acetone based 27.5 510 514
0.30, 2, 0.8 Zirconia and ethanol-based 27 520 523

Fig. 11 a Cross section of

pattern lines for 200 µm nozzle.
b Pattern lines for 200 µm
nozzle. c Cross section of
pattern lines for 500 µm nozzle.
d Pattern lines for 500 µm
nozzle

Fig. 12 Circuits are printed on

the PET substrate. a 4 cm ×
1 cm Zigzag (200 µm nozzle).
b Circular spiral (500 µm
nozzle) with a maximum
diameter of 5 cm

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Fig. 13 Current–voltage characteristics of zigzag pattern and circular
spiral pattern
4 Conclusions
In this research, a prediction model based on an artificial
neural network (ANN) is developed for a width of pattern
lines generated through 200 µm and 500 µm nozzles using
a microdispensing system. Using Taguchi signal-to-noise
(S/N) ratios, the best levels identified for a 200 µm noz-
zle are 0.38 MPa pressure, 2 mm/s feed rate, and 0.50 mm
standoff distance, while for a 500 µm nozzle the best results
are 0.32 MPa, 2 mm/s feed rate, and 0.60 mm standoff dis-
tance, respectively. The ANOVA results showed that feed
rate is the most significant parameter affecting the width
of pattern lines followed by pressure, while standoff dis-
tance is found insignificant. For neural network training, the
orthogonal array design L9 is extended to the L27 design.
Feed-forward backpropagation neural networks are utilized
to predict the width of pattern lines. The network architec-
ture comprising of 10 neurons in a single hidden layer with
the training function “trainlm (Levenberg–Marquardt)” and
transfer function “tangsig” are found best for predicting the
width of pattern lines for both nozzles. The prediction abil-
ity of the constructed ANN model is successfully evaluated
based on leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validation technique.
The mean square error (MSE) computed for 200 µm and
500 µm nozzles is 0.043 and 0.061, with a good coefficient
of determination (R2 ) 97.3% and 96.4%. The best levels iden-
tified based on Taguchi S/N ratios are valid in the ranges of
input parameters used for training neural networks. Hence,
it is demonstrated that the ANN makes an efficient model
predict process parameters of the microdispensing system of
the same material with different viscosities and by changing
its composition. Finally, the approach adopted in the present
study can be applied to various printing materials with vary-
ing viscosities and compositions as well as other printing
technologies to provide an incentive for optimization.
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