NextFlex, a consortium dedicated to advancing US flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) production, has issued a call for projects that advance its cause.
通过其最新的1,150万美元的项目电话，该组织正在寻求创新的方法来创建既解决高级制造问题的FHES，又要解决。US Department of Defense。
“We are delighted to announce this new round of funding for advanced manufacturing developments in the US,” said Malcolm Thompson, PhD, Executive Director of NextFlex. “The benefits of FHE – additively manufactured electronic systems that are lightweight, thin, and conformable, are transforming our perceptions of how ubiquitous electronics can truly be.”
“With each successive project call, the NextFlex member community moves the technology closer to commercialization and wide adoption.”
NextFlex’s DoD-backed initiatives
于2015年在空军研究实验室(AFRL)合作协议,NextFlex essentially a group of electronics firms, academic institutions, nonprofits and government partners, with the shared goal of facilitating FHE innovation, both as a way of making their production more sustainable and informing workplace practices.
NextFlex试图鼓励此类进步的一种方式是通过其自己的试点规模的制造线。被称为技术中心, this facility is fitted with twoITARandFDA Quality Systems Regulation-compliant cleanrooms as well as inkjet, aerosol jet and extrusion systems, and lab space for device production, integration and testing.
Under its initial arrangement with the AFRL, the consortium also gained $75 million in funding, which it has since redistributed to those developing lightweight, stretchable FHEs. Over the last seven years or so, NextFlex has made a particular habit of backing those focused on the conformal 3D printing of electronics onto existing surfaces,awarding $3 million to Optomecin 2017 with this in mind.
Other beneficiaries of the organization’s support include洛克希德·马丁, which gained a share of a1200万美元的NextFlex投资a year later, in return for compiling a database of 3D printed antenna and microwave elements, with another12 projects being awarded $11.5 million在2020年5月，其总支出超过1亿美元。
Since then, the group has gone on toenter into a cost-sharing agreementwith the AFRL, that has seen the DoD commit to providing it with up to $154 million, in order to give it the spending power necessary to support the development of advanced electronics, which can truly address US defense needs.
“我们是兴奋与N继续我们的合作extFlex and its members,” AFRL Chief Scientist Dr. Richard Vaia said at the time. “The Flexible Hybrid Electronic manufacturing ecosystem did not exist five years ago. Today these technologies are not only providing component solutions to our current platforms, but are revolutionizing our design concepts for future transformation capabilities for 2030.”
$11.5M on offer to FHE innovators
作为其最新通话行动的一部分，即七年来的第七年，NextFlex将获得最初的1,150万美元的可用资金，尽管一旦考虑到成本分布，实际的项目投资会更高。就条目而言，该财团表示，它正在寻求提出有关“高优先级美国制造机会”和“新兴重要性领域”的项目。
Specifically, NextFlex is encouraging applications with automotive or packaging potential, as well as those involving the R&D of novel approaches to FHE fabrication, dielectric materials or production methods, the addition of integrated circuits to electronics, making such devices more eco-friendly, the creation of soft, stretchables and wearable manufacturing.
除了其项目呼叫，该组织还使其FHE Technology Roadmap这是第一次公开。这些文件旨在告知NextFlex的资金优先级，其中包含有关印刷电子产品世界中当前市场机会，需求和利益相关者的信息，此外还有五年的路线图，重点是填补其确定的“技术空白”。
Through this roadmap and its latest project guidebook, the group suggests that entries should be “industrially-led” where appropriate, have a “significant US presence” and a “clear path towards commercialization.” In terms of the actual content of submissions, NextFlex says that they need to include enough detail to make methods replicable at its Technology Hub, while funding must be split 1:1.
More details about project call 7.0 are set to be revealed at the Proposer’s Day and Teaming Event on March 1, 2022, at NextFlex’s Winter FHE Symposium, where attendees can pose questions and form proposal teams if desired. The consortium’s deadline for applications is April 14, 2022.
Those interested in attending the event can find out morehere。
Investing in innovative electronics
Despite still being at a relatively early stage of commercialization, the field of electronics 3D printing continues to attract a significant amount of investor interest. Earlier this month,ETH Zurichspin-outScrona AG筹集了960万美元用于开发high-resolution electronics 3D printingapproach, from high-profile backers such asAm Invures。
Nano Dimension, one of the early leaders in this area, has also poured a huge amount of funding into R&D. In one such initiative, the firm co-founded the$6 million J.A.M.E.S venture与传感器专家Hensoldt2021年6月，它看到了设计师社区的形成，旨在推进加性生产的电子产品（AMES）。
在更商业层面，nScryptcontinues to invest in the development of itsFactory in a Tool(FiT) systems, and late last year, it launched a toolhead that enables the3D printing of multi-axis electronicsonto curved or irregular surfaces. To demonstrate the microdispensing capabilities of this ‘SmartPump’ device when it first came out, the firm 3D printed its own n-shaped logo onto a computer mouse.
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Featured image shows the 3D printing process used by one of NextFlex’s members to produce FHE components. Photo via NextFlex.
