For about $300 in equipment costs, anyone can produce working electrical circuits in the 60 seconds it takes to print them.
Researchers from Georgia Tech, the University of Tokyo and Microsoft Research have developed a novel method to rapidly and cheaply make electrical circuits by printing them with commodity inkjet printers and off-the-shelf materials. For about $300 in equipment costs, anyone can produce working electrical circuits in the 60 seconds it takes to print them.
The technique, called instant inkjet circuits, allows the printing of arbitrary-shaped conductors onto rigid or flexible materials and could advance the prototyping skills of non-technical enthusiasts and novice hackers.
“We believe there is an opportunity to introduce a new approach to the rapid prototyping of fully custom-printed circuits,” said Gregory Abowd, Regents’ Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech and an investigator in the study. “Unlike existing methods for printing conductive patterns, conductivity in our technique emerges within a few seconds and without the need for special equipment.”
Recent advances in chemically bonding metal particles allowed the researchers to use silver nanoparticle ink to print the circuits and avoid thermal bonding, or sintering, a time-consuming and potentially damaging technique due to the heat. Printing the circuits on resin-coated paper, PET film and glossy photo paper worked best. Researchers also made a list of materials to avoid, such as canvas cloths and magnet sheets.
“Everything we introduced in our research is available in the market and makes it possible for people to try this at home,” said Yoshihiro Kawahara, Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo and the primary investigator who developed the methodology while in Atlanta. “The method can be used to print circuit boards, sensors and antennas with little cost, and it opens up many new opportunities.”
To make the technique possible, researchers optimized commercially available tools and materials including printers, adhesive tape and the silver ink. Designing the circuit itself was accomplished with desktop drawing software, and even a photocopy of a drawing can produce a working circuit.
Once printed, the circuits can be attached to electronic components using conductive double-sided tape or silver epoxy adhesive, allowing full-scale prototyping in mere hours. The homemade circuits might allow tinkerers to quickly prototype crude calculators, thermostat controls, battery chargers or any number of electronic devices.
“Using this technology in the classroom, it would be possible to introduce students to basic electronics principles very cheaply, and they could use a range of electronic components to augment the experience,” said Steve Hodges, a team member from Microsoft Research.
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Inkjet-Based Circuits
- Global Transparent Electronics Market Size To Worth USD 7.89 Billion By 2033 | CAGR Of 20.23%
New York, United States , Aug. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Transparent Electronics Market Size is to Grow from USD 1.25 Billion in 2023 to USD 7.89 Billion by 2033, at a Compound Annual ...
- Using 3D printing to create 3D circuits: Researchers unlock self-healing boards
Traditional printed circuit boards are pretty much stuck being flat and 2D ... But achieving that 3D circuitry is a challenge with existing methods like direct ink writing (DIW). Those techniques use ...
- New technique uses 3D printing to fab three-dimensional chip circuits
To further drive the capabilities of 3D circuit fabrication, scientists from the National University of Singapore have developed a novel approach to direct ink writing 3D printing technology.
- Zerowriter Ink: An Open-Source ePaper Typewriter for Writers
Adam Wilk, creator of the Zerowriter—a Raspberry Pi Zero-based e-ink typewriter—has launched a Crowd Supply campaign for an upgraded version called Zerowriter Ink. This campaign, in collaboration with ...
- Understanding The Functionality Of Integrated Circuits
Having trouble with your gadgets lately? Well, the brains behind all these smart devices are called Integrated Circuits (ICs). This blog will guide you through how ICs work and why they’re crucial in ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Inkjet-Based Circuits
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Inkjet-Based Circuits” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
3D printed circuits
- Ninth Circuit decides two pro-arbitration cases
The Ninth Circuit concluded that arbitration agreements were enforceable in two opinions that addressed three significant arbitration issues: (1) ...
- NUS Researchers Develop Breakthrough 3D Printing Technique for Self-Healing Electronics
Unlike traditional printed circuit boards, which are flat, 3D circuitry enables components to be stacked and integrated vertically -; dramatically reducing the footprint required for devices.
- Sustainable and reversible 3D printing method uses minimal ingredients and steps
A new 3D printing method developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego is so simple that it uses a polymer ink and salt water solution to create solid structures. The work, ...
- New method enables mass production of complex 3D stretchable circuits
Traditional fabrication methods for stretchable electronics, such as transfer printing and direct metal deposition on ... three-dimensional, and stretchable circuits (3D-LSC). Their work, published in ...
- Using 3D printing to create 3D circuits: Researchers unlock self-healing boards
But a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore has leveled up circuit printing into the third dimension with a smart new technique called CHARM3D. And it's not just 3D – these ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
3D printed circuits
[google_news title=”” keyword=”3D printed circuits” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
