• Researchers at the University of Fribourg unveiled a hybrid process that merges polymer 3D printing with molten metal droplet deposition to fabricate truly three dimensional electronics. • Printed electronics have long promised form factors that rigid boards cannot match, but most approaches still live on or near a flat plane. • Inkjet and Aerosol Jet printing put silver or copper inks onto surfaces, then sinter. • For example, Nano Dimension’s inkjet stack builds multilayer dielectrics and conductors, while molded interconnect devices use laser activation and plating to put traces on molded parts. • Voxel8, years ago, co-printed polymer and conductive paste via FFF before pivoting. • All of these moved the ball forward, yet integrating robust, low-resistance metal features deep inside a 3D printed body remains difficult.

Article Summaries:

  • Researchers at the University of Fribourg unveiled a hybrid process that merges polymer 3D printing with molten metal droplet deposition to fabricate truly three dimensional electronics. Printed electronics have long promised form factors that rigid boards cannot match, but most approaches still live on or near a flat plane. Inkjet and Aerosol Jet printing put silver or copper inks onto surfaces, then sinter. For example, Nano Dimension’s inkjet stack builds multilayer dielectrics and conductors, while molded interconnect devices use laser activation and plating to put traces on molded parts.

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