3D Printing Of Functional Electronics

With the use of traditional fabrication techniques,the ability to realize accurately and truly three-dimensional electronic circuits are complex if not impossible.The use of such techniques are limited to two-dimensional printed circuit boards(PCBs),and various inharmonious processes are required which deplete cost,time and volume.Because of Additive Manufacturing's nature(AM),such problems are reduced and in some ways completely overcome.The ideal suitability of AM fabrication method is for small quantity,reduced volume,highly customized builds,and cost-effectiveness,leading to interest where each build is unique in the application of satellite development and manufacturing.The higher range of design freedom allows for along conformal planes,as well as an elemental modification;embedded electronics came to its verge,permitting to the 3D electric circuit in ways traditional manufacturing methods are impractical.By this way AM techniques offer an optimized and diversified range of applications particularly in space such as miniaturized satellites.This project is mainly focused on CubeSat application,which is the use of miniaturized satellites to afford for inexpensive manufacturing.The purpose of this project is not merely to demonstrate the effective combination of AM techniques for low-cost manufacturing of miniaturized satellites but also to contribute in the promotion and demonstrate that the products manufactured with this technique can survive in the space.This work demonstrates the Fused Deposition Modeling(FDM)which belongs to the AM,printing process employed and the conductive material required to fabricate the conductive traces of circuitry.In this work,the feasibility of conductive material has been put under the study using the AM.If we particularly talk about the conductive inks then there is a large variety available which is categorized based on the different composition and constitutive materials.Thermal post-processing parameters are also a major factor to differentiate among various inks.The conductivity of the ink and mechanical properties are mainly dependent on the required curing temperature and method of post-processing.Three conductive materials 1)Silver conductive ink(HS-8200Ag),2)Solder paste(HC-902(RoHS,China))and 3)Copper wire has been studied.The selection of material is made because of their good conductivity offered at low curing temperature among the rest.Proof of concept device has been fabricated and studied to evaluate the performance.