Process & machine development for the integration of conductive paths inside a 3D printed microsystem

Manufacturing of electronic circuits has strong geometrical restrictions due to established PCB-based manufacturing methods. The adaption of additive manufacturing processes and materials to the needs of electronic systems would open up completely new ways of designing miniaturized electronic and mechatronic systems. To date, there are different approaches that address this central issue, but all of them show restrictions. Many of those drawbacks can be overcome by using inkjet-based additive manufacturing processes, which allows selective processing of different materials in high resolution. We present a modular process chain, which was implemented in an automated test platform that allows direct integration of freeformed conductive paths inside a 3D printed part. The test structures presented in this paper are based on inkjet-printable materials compatible with the needs of electronic applications.