Electric and Electronic Industry

When you think of 3D printing technology, you probably think of objects made from thermoplastic or metal materials. But additive manufacturing technology is also being extended to the production of electronic circuitry.

Manufacturers like Optomec and Nano Dimension have developed systems for the production of multi-material PCBs. Even antennas, batteries, solar cell sheets, and radar systems are now considered to be 3D printable through extrusion and inkjet 3D printing technologies.

For example, Optomec’s Aerosol Jet printing technology produces 3D printed electronics using an additive manufacturing process that prints with conductive, dielectric, semiconductor, and biologic inks. These materials are extruded on to plastic, ceramic, and metallic substrates, creating 3D printed electronics without the need for tooling, photomasks, or stencils.

When additive manufacturing first emerged, one downside was the inability to integrate electronics into an object during the printing process. But even this issue is being overcome with new processes and companies..