Vacuum-formed 3D printed electronics: fabrication of thin, rigid and free-form interactive surfaces

Abstract

Figure 1: Overview of a vacuum-formed smart surface. a) Design editor to simulate vacuum-forming; b) Design tool for drawing interconnects on a vacuum-formed surface; c) Pre-distorted 3D printed sheet clamped to low-cost vacuum-forming machine; d) Vacuum-formed 3D printed sheet; e) assembled & connected smart tray sensing the presence of an object