Inkjet-Based Circuits at Fraction of Time and Cost

[zxcvgm]

This is handy for quick prototyping, but it seems that you can't solder on the parts and have to use "conductive double-sided tape or silver epoxy adhesive" instead.

To etch a PCB, the typical process is to (1) print a photo mask, (2) transfer it using photolithography or toner transfer, (3) dissolve away the exposed copper, and optionally drill holes. The coolest hack I've seen skips step (1) and (2) by directly "printing" onto the PCB using a UV laser, thus reducing the number of steps down to 2.

http://hackaday.com/2012/08/09/exposing-pcbs-with-a-home-mad...

[akavel]

There was some related method mentioned recently on hackaday too, reportedly somewhat easier, where a guy in steps 1-2 prints with inkjet, and then dusts some toner over the ink and bakes the result in an oven. Never really got into hardware yet, but might help someone:

http://hackaday.com/2013/11/02/perfect-pcbs-with-an-inkjet-p...

[wuschel]

As always, university press super hype press releases without any useful hyperlinks. This must be corrected:

Lit:

  http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2493486
  http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20090233237

Interesting read, but then again I agree that this is a prototype only protocol with little use because of the fragile nature of the circuits. And as for prototyping, aren't there software suites around that bring sufficient capability in this regard?

[crb3]

How conductive? Relatively high-resistance can be worked around for CMOS logic- and MCU-based circuits (mainly high RC constants), but analog that has to be built with high-decade resistances is likely to be noise-prone and flaky, and forget power sections, they'll have to be built on conventional glass-epoxy and hooked up with flex-edge headers.

The lack of a good gas-tight bond between component and conductor is also problematic: silver tarnishes. Silver-clad switch contacts can be made self-wiping, but not static contacts. Absent some kind of hot-weld method, I can just see SMD parts popping off of flex-circuits.

This is a promising start to a new base-level technology, but it's got a ways to go before it's ready for the R&D lab as a tool rather than a patient. I look forward to seeing these issues overcome.

[voltera]

You guys should check out Voltera (http://volterainc.com). We are working really hard to make this a reality. :)

[Keyframe]

Are there any details on that page or just a signup form?

[zafka]

They say for $300.00 but neglect to say where to get the ink. Large amounts of appreciation to anyone who finds out.

[doctoboggan]

If you have access to a lab you can make your own. This video[0] has basic ingredients and instructions. This paper[1] explains some variations on the ink formulation.

[0]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfNByi-rrO4 [1]: http://staff.ustc.edu.cn/~yjxiong/paper/Science-2.pdf

[Palomides]

in the paper they say they use an ink that costs ~$200 for 100mL.

Specifically, "Mitsubishi NBSIJ-MU01"

[ck2]

The ability to print circuits seems even more exciting than 3D printing to me.

(now if you could combine the two...)

[guizzy]

Well... http://hackaday.com/2013/11/07/3d-printing-with-metal-at-hom...

[sbierwagen]

Conductive ink is conductive, but not very conductive: http://c1qfxugcgy0.tumblr.com/post/58354457557/girlprince-ky...

[Palomides]

that stuff is completely different (and far less conductive); it (afaict) uses graphite powder, this uses silver nanoparticles that fuse together.

[paulgr]

This sounds very promising. If we add different inks that are semi conducting and resistive, we could actually print out whole circuits with components. Probably still a few years before this becomes reality.

[andyidsinga]

this is awesome - we'll soon be to a point where a person can prototype 100 units of a thing-of-the-internet in a weekend > circuit, mechanical and software.

[theunixbeard]

If a more sturdy method for securing the chips is devised, this technique would also be a huge boon for wearable/flexible electronics! Any ideas?

[zwieback]

Probably works much better with piezo printers than thermal inkjet printers. The article points that out but doesn't go into detail.

[zafka]

I am not even familiar with piezo printers,I guess I have even more fun stuff to look up.

[jerryhuang100]

Instead of inject printers, is it possible to use a laser printer but use graphene / MoS2 nanotube in the cartridge?

[boulderdash]

Been waiting for this, since the first articles like this appeared about 30 years ago.