Optomec Aerosol Jet 5-axis
Aerosol Jet 5 Axis System, printing antennas and sensors on three cell phone inserts.
Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering has installed Optomec’s Aerosol Jet Technology in a bid to advance the 3D micro-additive manufacturing methods for a range of electronic applications.
Harnessing the technology of Optomec, a global supplier of additive manufacturing systems for electronics and metals, Carnegie Mellon’s Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Laboratory (AMML) believes they can help to drive next-generation manufacturing processes. With the Aerosol Jet system, they will be looking to advance the way they manufacture fully printed conformal sensors, low loss passives and antennas for on-chip and off-chip electronics.
Dr Rahul Panat, of the AMML, is directing work which is focusing on solving fundamental and applied problems in the areas of printed and flexible microelectronics manufacturing and Lithium-ion batteries. This is likely to influence devices and systems for wearable and Internet of Things (IoT) applications, like smart contact lenses, wearable electronic clothing, robotic skins, and bio-patches among others. Already, the AMML team has demonstrated that complex 3D battery architectures fabricated by Aerosol Jet show electrode utilisation and fast-charge discharge cycles. It all forms part of a mission to develop fully printed, practical solutions suitable for use within mainstream manufacturing.
“We employ an Optomec aerosol Jet 3D print system to directly print nanoparticle inks and polymers over complex surfaces,” explained Panat. “The Aerosol Jet system has enabled us to fully print 3D antennas at the sub 100um length scale and to conduct simulation studies to identify omnidirectional antenna designs. These fabrication methods are unique and can pave way for several applications in the high-speed communication areas.”
Aerosol Jet Technology enables the printing of fine-feature electronic, structural and biological patterns onto almost any substrate, such as 3D conformal sensors and antennas. It has been harnessed in such industries as aerospace, defence, consumer electronics, wearables and the IoT.
