132370Archipelago HotDrop - A digital manufacturing platform for clean, high volume surface engineering and coatingClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKHotDrop is a broadly applicable digital manufacturing platform for clean, high volume surface engineering and coating. It enables non-contact, drop-on-demand deposition of hot melt materials including adhesives. It will be used in digital manufacturing applications where there is a need to produce patterned layers of hot melt materials. A key strength is the ability to jet viscous materials, without the need for the addition of harmful and costly solvents. It is clean, food-safe and eliminates the energy associated with the addition, transportation, removal and disposal of solvents. Example applications include the digital deposition of adhesives, where regions of different levels of stiction can be produced by controlling the number density of adhesive dots deposited on a substrate. Other HotDrop applications include adding braille dots and grip for tactile packaging, and highly flexible methods of manufacturing advanced carbon fibre composites.