A company called Optomec in New Mexico claims to have developed additive technologies where electronics are printed via 3D printing directly onto the product. Print me a phone (The Economist) “It can print electronics directly onto a pair of glasses, for ‘augmented reality’; it can make a plastic water tank that uses embedded electronics to measure how full it is and turn pumps on or off; it can print sensors on military armour; or an antenna on the case of a mobile phone.”
To be able to print electronics, a medium or ‘ink’ must be used that exhibits electrical properties. The ink can then be printed directly onto plastics or fabrics allowing for circuitry to be built in this manner. By combining this concept with 3D printing, it is possible to print an entire object with electronics from one machine, simultaneously without any assembly required. It is thought that even the batteries can be printed.
PARC works with the special materials (inks) designed for printing electronics, to develop ways to use the inks. PARC is projecting that their advancements can be used with 3D printing. “These can print circuits for various components, including flexible display screens, sensors and antennae for radio-frequency security tags.” Janos Veres, the manager of PARC’s printed-electronics team, said this. PARC is a research center, part of Xerox in Palo Alto, California. Enabling value-added offerings for new market (PARC) is a PARC case study that describes the company using jet printing methods as well as lithographic processes, incorporating displays and backplanes.
This kind of technology exists today. “…to make a 'smart wing' for a small drone. The wing was made from a thermoplastic material using a Stratasys 3D printer. Optomec then used a process it calls Aerosol Jet to print circuits, sensors and an antenna on the wing. The idea is that such technology would allow lightweight drones that can be customised for specific missions and printed on demand.” To clarify, the wing was not built in one step. Stratasys built the wing via 3D printing, which was then put in the Aerosol Jet system in which the electronics were printed on.
What do you think the next step for printed electronics may be?