3D Printed Electronic Circuits from Fusible Alloys

Abstract

This work aims to evaluate the possibility of fabricating conductive paths for printed circuit boards from low-temperature melting metal alloys on low-temperature 3D printed substrates and mounting through-hole electronic components using the fused deposition modeling for metals (FDMm) for structural electronics applications. The conductive materials are flux-cored solder wires Sn60Pb40 and Sn99Ag0.3Cu0.7. The deposition was achieved with a specially adapted nozzle. A comparison of solder wires with and without flux cores is discussed to determine whether the solder alloys exhibit adequate wettability and adhesion to the polymer substrate. The symmetrical astable multivibrator circuit based on bipolar junction transistors (BJT) was fabricated to demonstrate the possibility of simultaneous production of conductive tracks and through-hole mountings with this additive technique. Additional perspectives for applying this technique to 3D-printed structural electronic circuits are also discussed.

3D printed electronics with nanomaterials

“…A brief glimpse of other emerging additive techniques covers concrete extrusion for house building, 202,203 Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) incorporating wire-arc welding and a 6-axis robotic manipulator, 204,205 Big-Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) being a sort of very large-scale FDM, [206][207][208] Direct Energy Deposition (DED) involving the melting of metal powder with a high-powered laser beam, 209 or liquid and molten metal ink-jet, FDM and DIW techniques. [210][211][212][213][214] An example of a full scale excavator arm fabricated with the WAAM/BAAM technique is presented in Fig. 4h.…”

Methacrylic acid grafted nanocellulose enhanced light curing 3D printing

“…3D printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing technology or rapid prototyping technology, does not require molds, compression molds, or photolithographic masks throughout the molding process, allowing digital design and precise manufacturing layer by layer [1]. In the modern society where personalized customization is prevalent, 3D printing technology has a promising future and has been widely used in medical, electronic, and automotive fields in recent years [2,3,4,5].…”

One‐Stop Hybrid Printing of Bulk Metal and Polymer for 3D Electronics

“…Flux‐cored solder wires from Sn 60 Pb 40 and Sn 99 Ag 0.3 Cu 0.7 were used to demonstrate 3D‐printed structural electronic circuits by simultaneous production of conductive tracks and through‐hole mountings. [ 35 ] Furthermore, they demonstrate excellent electrical conductivity by direct printing of metal for the electrical circuits which were completed with soldering of surface‐mounted devices (SMD). This underscores the significant potential of utilizing MMAM, low‐melting molten metals in conjunction with thermoplastics, for applications within the domain of 3D electronics.…”