这是一年中的那个时候，关于即将发生的事情的决议和预测。在全自动的金属ALM工厂之后，现在是时候研究另一个重要趋势了，该趋势很可能会在2016年开始看到一些非常严重的商业应用：3D打印电子产品，包括PCB的原型制作以及最终使用可穿戴和物联网产品。一家实际上是在映射这途径的公司是PV Nano Cell，是用于印刷电子产品的纳米颗粒金属油墨生产的主要参与者。
Electronics printing today takes place primarily in 2D, using silver nanoparticle inks. Founded by Fernando de la Vega, the current CEO, PV Nano Cell began in the field of printable photovoltaics and has recently moved on to assume a leadership position in the production of conductive inks, mainly through the commercialisation of its Sicrys line of products.
The Sicrys inks are high performance, state-of-the-art single crystal nano-metric conductive inks, based on PVN’s exclusive dispersion technology. They are made to offer a competitive edge to clients using inkjet printing for printed electronics and more. TheSicrys产品系列有银或铜形式,ensuring maximum conductivity at a lowest cost.
How is this going to affect 3D printing? Through the development and modification of current inkjet 3D printing technologies – such as Stratasys Polyjet technology (and 3D System’s MultiJet Modeling) – It will become possible to directly 3D print electronic-capable products, such as photovoltaics, printed circuit boards, RFID, sensors, smart cards, touchscreens and advanced packaging.
“The idea here is to replace all the analogue production by using digital conductive printing, as part of an an additive process,” de la Vega explains. “We are primarily an ink company and we are developing inks that differ from anything else currently on the market. First of all, we have both silver and copper inks. Copper is safer and does not oxidize as easily. Our inks are made of nanometer particles; they are very special single crystal particles with enhanced properties that enable better electrical conductivity and stability. Our inks enable high throughput 24/7 printing for a highly industrialised process.”
Another aspect that, according to de la Vega, will help bring 3D printed electronics into the mainstream is that PVN’s inks are extremely low cost, with end prices that – even depending on quantity – are about one third of other nanometal particle conductive inks on the market. “We use a water-based process that is extremely cost effective,” he explains, “so much so that we can even compete with the prices of standard PolyJet resins in terms of pricing.”
To make end products, the inks can either be applied by ink jetting on pre-manufactured plastic parts, such as, for example, polycarbonate for mobile phone antennas, or they will be able to be 3D printed directly into the photopolymers during 3D printing. For this, the strategy by PVN is to focus exclusively on the inks and actively collaborate with hardware manufacturers to find the best compatibility with their own materials and processes. Recently, PVN signed a collaboration deal with a large PCB manufacturer in Israel and a consumer electronics company based in the USA and China.
早在去年11月,PVN赢得了IDTechExAward for Best Development in Materials for 3D Printing for its Sicrys materials and their potential in accelerating the adoption of solar photovoltaics (PV) and printed electronics (PE). “We are honored to receive this award from such an influential, high-profile organization, being recognized for the hard work that our team pours into developing our unique inks,” said Mr. de la Vega. “In order for the printed electronics industry to grow as anticipated, cost-efficient inks that enable mass production digital inkjet printing are necessary. We work with manufacturers of printed electronics including printed circuit boards, antennas and others to enable significant technological advancements.”
PVN的生产能力为数百公斤，并且专门针对市场的最终用途产品和零件。这可能并不意味着我们将在2016年看到完全3D打印的消费电子产品（例如智能手机），但这是将来将在将来实现基础的一年。
