
New method developed to 3D print fully functional electronic circuits - levlaz
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2017/november/new-method-developed-to-3d-print-fully-functional-electronic-circuits.aspx
======
rsingla
It's not clear to me how this compares to the work from Voltera [0]. Can
someone with more expertise weigh in?

[0] - [https://www.voltera.io/](https://www.voltera.io/)

~~~
extrapickles
The primary difference is that Voltera is heat cured, this is UV cured.

Differences:

Voltera: Ink comes in syringe. Printed via standard dispenser Ink is heat
cured

New Technique: Ink is printed with inkjet head Ink is UV curred

Both use off the self technologies besides the ink. Voltera uses standard
paste/syringe dispensing tech, this uses standard UV cure inkjet printing
technology.

------
jack_h
I know the Dragonfly 2020 printer (developed by the Israeli company Nano
Dimension) has been in development for quite a few years which (seems) to use
the same method as described in the link.

The method itself isn't even that novel since it's the same the as Stratasys'
polyjet printers, only with specially formulated inks. There's probably prior
art to that as well, but I know Stratasys has had polyjet printers for quite a
while now.

------
JshWright
While I see the advantages there, it continues the trend of increasingly
unrepairable components...

~~~
aalleavitch
But why repair something when you can print a new one?

~~~
jrowley
Assuming that wasn’t sarcastic, for one increasing consumption isn’t good from
a sustainability standpoint.

------
teilo
Very exciting. This will revolutionize the hobby industry. No more etching. It
would imagine it would be an easy exercise to build a machine with an
integrated drill, so you can go straight from printing to soldering. A PCB
will literally be a PCB.

~~~
dragontamer
In my experience... no.

A modern PCB has the following:

1\. Copper Traces

2\. Copper-plated Through Holes (usually for Vias, but useful for through-hole
parts as well)

3\. Solder Mask (very important for surface mount parts)

4\. Silkscreen ("Helper Text", marks that say R1 or "R2 goes here").

Given that I can order 3+ custom boards from USA suppliers for $70 or so
(process in 3 days, then ship it so I get it within a week), or 10+ boards for
$50 if ordered from China (takes a few weeks to travel though)... I think the
modern PCB market is to just order from online.

"Immediate Printing" is well served by the CNC Mill industry today. But CNC-
milled boards just aren't good enough for production purposes. Even if you're
a hobbyist, all the good tech is in SMT parts which really need a good
soldermask.

\-----------------

What the technology discussed in the page will be used for is additive
manufacturing. That is: the creation of new structures that are cheaper to do
by additive means than subtractive means.

I can imagine a small circuit of size .5mm x .5mm for example that would be
more efficient to "print" than to mill or etch.

I think their example of 3d Antenna built into a plastic board is the real
idea behind the technology. Additive manufacturing is dramatically different
than subtractive... and subtractive manufacturing is standard for a reason.

The idea is that "Additive" methods can create things very different than
subtractive methods. Don't try to emulate the subtractive methods through
additive means.

But for cheap prototyping, CNC Mill + Copper Boards is fast enough, and
ordering a "professional" board in the USA or from China is cheap and easy
enough as it is.

~~~
new299
The prices you quote are pretty expensive for 2 layer boards at least. I
should ordered 3 Arduino sized boards from OSHPark (US fabricated) for 40USD.
From China I would probably get 10 for about 20USD.

CNC Mills kind of suck. The main issue is alignment of the top and bottom
layers, the lack of vias, and that even with the additional pain (and cost)
the quality isn't great (no solder mask is the main pain point).

A nice, simple, PCB printer would actually be useful. But they've a long way
to come and I think it's quite a niche product. They'd need to produce at
least 2 layer boards with vias for me to consider using one. Ideally they'd
also have solder mask.

I think it's quite a niche play though. There are many differences between 3D
printing and PCB printing, which make 3D printing more interesting/viable.

~~~
StavrosK
~10 boards from China cost $12 with shipping, and the quality is quite good.
I've ordered multiple times, and have been satisfied every time.

~~~
new299
Sounds about right, I've found shipping to my location a bit higher than that.

I've also found that some suppliers are better than others. I've had suppliers
not print silk on 50% of the boards in batches for example (this was when
order a batch of 100).

------
oofabz
The article says, "Dr Ehab Saleh and members of the team from CfAM found that
silver nanoparticles in conductive inks are capable of absorbing UV light
efficiently. The absorbed UV energy is converted into heat, which evaporates
the solvents of the conductive ink and fuses the silver nanoparticles."

I don't think this will be economical if it uses silver as the conductor.

~~~
matt_kantor
I think the quantities will be relatively small. Many electronics contain gold
(~100x more expensive than silver), and as far as I know that hasn't really
been a problem.

------
Taniwha
I think the main interesting thing here is that one can build bulk circuits
.... many, 100s of, embedded layers deep as you build a 3D object .... the
next step is obviously an integrated pick&place that embeds components in
something as it's printed ... and of course the step after is something with
enough precision to lay down say 2u FETs ...

~~~
jack_h
Embedded components could definitely be a benefit. This sort of thing is
already somewhat possible (e.g. PCB cavities) but has limitations.

Another interesting possibility would be designing complex surfaces that
components can attach to rather than the traditional top/bottom of a PCB.
Again this is already somewhat possible with techniques like 3D-MIDs (molded
interconnect devices). 3D printing would make this sort of thing far more
feasible though as MIDs are inherently limited to traces on the surface,
meaning you're limited to a single layer.

Pick and place machines would need to get rather advanced for this to work as
well. I know there are a few out there to handle MID orientations, solder
paste extrusion, and laser soldering, but from what I've seen they're quite
slow.

Of course heat dissipation and electromagnetic effects could become
interesting design challenges (or design patterns) if the geometries are
complex enough.

------
Eyght
The article mentions a video but I can't seem to find it. If anyone finds it,
please share it.

~~~
mcshicks
Seems like its in here

[https://www.tctmagazine.com/3d-printing-news/university-
nott...](https://www.tctmagazine.com/3d-printing-news/university-nottingham-
researchers-3d-print-electronic-circuits/)

