LOPEC 2018: 3D-printed circuits and more

 

Printed electronics and 3D-printing systems are coming together and enabling new applications. The current state of this technology and its potential are a hot topic at LOPEC, the international exhibition and conference for the printed-electronics industry, which will be held from 13 to 15March 2018, at the Messe München exhibition grounds (Munich, Germany).

Printed electronics is about to enter the third dimension: Circuits and much more will no longer be printed simply on foil and other flat surfaces. They will also be integrated into three-dimensional objects. “3D-printed electronics are an emerging market,” says Dr Takao Someya, a professor at the University of Tokyo and a member of the LOPEC’s Scientific Board. “New printing technology can be used to place electronic functions on both the surfaces of complex components and integrate them inside the components as well.”

In his keynote address to the LOPEC Congress 2018, Someya will present a conductive printing ink made of an elastomer that contains nano-silver particles. The material can be stretched to as much as five times its original length without losing any of its electric properties. In their work, Japanese researchers have produced elastic printing and temperature sensors that can be laminated onto arbitrarily shaped objects and textiles.

LOPEC exhibitor Neotech AMT of Nuremberg offers systems that print conductor tracks and other electrically active structures directly onto 3D components. The consumer electronics and automotive industries use this technology to print antennas and heating elements on curved plastic surfaces, among other things.

One of the challenges posed by 3D-multimaterial printing is the tempering of the various materials. Printing inks that contain metal particles must usually undergo a high-temperature treatment to form their electric properties. LOPEC exhibitor NovaCentrix of the United States has developed a solution that flashes extremely short bursts of pulsed light onto the printed metal structure. This process can be used on heat-sensitive plastics without causing any damage.

Decentralised, individual and cost efficient—these are the strengths of 3D printing. In the future, spare parts should be able to be printed everywhere at the press of a button, even in outer space. LOPEC exhibitor Optomec of the United States has been contracted by the U.S. space agency NASA to develop a 3D printer that can make electronics in space

Printed electronics has already become an integral part of the aviation industry. Sensors, light-emitting diodes and other elements made with state-of-the-art printing technologies are already being used in planes. “Up to now, we have only been printing two dimensionally on flat surfaces,” Takao Someya says. “This limitation is now a thing of the past.” In the future, supplemental electronic functions will be integrated into all possible products almost effortlessly. The combination of printed electronics and 3D-printing will revolutionize industrial production in every sector. LOPEC 2018 will offer insights into the electronics of the future.

Caption: Direct printing of complex 3D moulded interconnect devices from Neotech AMT offer many advantages (photo: Neotech AMT)