BOSTON, March 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asked whether
electronics is a 'digital technology', almost everyone would reply
in the affirmative. However, while printed circuit boards (PCBs)
enable digital technologies, the manufacturing processes
used to produce them are still largely analog.
'Digital manufacturing' refers to any method that is directly
controlled by a computer – simply using software in the design
process doesn't count. Well-known examples are CNC (computer
numerical control) machining, a subtractive method in which a
rotational cutting tool selectively removes material, and 3D
printing, an additive method that involves selective deposition of
metal, plastic, or even ceramic. In both cases, direct computer
control means that every part produced can have a different design
and even that the design can be adjusted once manufacturing is in
progress.
In contrast, conventional PCB manufacturing takes an analog
approach. The desired pattern is transferred to a mask that is used
for photolithography. Regions of material, typically copper
laminate on a PCB, that are not coated with the patterned resist
are then removed with an etchant. While this approach enables
efficient high-yield production, introducing digital manufacturing
methods would bring additional benefits.
Why Do We Need Digital Electronics Manufacturing?
Arguably, the main benefit of digital over analog manufacturing
is that every item can be different with no additional setup time
or costs. This is why inkjet printers (digital) are used at home
since only a single copy is typically needed, whereas offset
printing (analog) is used for mass-produced newspapers. With
electronics, digital manufacturing enables rapid prototyping,
accelerating the design process. It facilitates mass customization,
where every circuit has a different design if desired without
dramatically increasing production costs. Furthermore,
high-resolution digital manufacturing methods can be used in
conjunction with conventional photolithography to repair any
unwanted circuit breaks.
Digital Manufacturing Methods for Electronics
Interest in digital manufacturing methods for electronics has
increased rapidly over recent years. While inkjet printing is by
far the best-established method of digitally depositing conductive
ink, there are a variety of emerging techniques that are both
digital and additive. They all offer the direct control of digital
manufacturing while spanning a range of throughputs, resolutions,
material viscosity, and substrate dimensionality.
Multiple digital and additive manufacturing methods for
printed electronics span a range of resolutions. Source:
IDTechEx
Print-then-plate utilizes inkjet printing of a thin layer
of silver nanoparticle conductive ink to selectively pattern the
substrate. This 'seed layer' is then fully metalized by electroless
plating, producing a copper circuit. This method is already used
for mass production. It combines the customizability of digital
manufacturing, the reduced waste of additive manufacturing, and the
conductivity of copper metal (rather than printed conductive ink).
Laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) can be regarded as
a hybrid of laser direct structuring (LDS) and inkjet printing.
Briefly, a laser heats conductive ink coated underneath a 'transfer
plate', with evaporating solvent ejecting the ink. The lack of
nozzle is a major benefit since it enables viscous inks typically
used for screen printing to be used. There is potential for LIFT to
be used in tandem with R2R production, enabling rapid,
cost-effective production of customized circuits.
Aerosol printing is a relatively established technique
that is well suited to printing onto 3D surfaces. A low-viscosity
ink is atomized and formed into a thin collimated jet within a gas
sheath layer, enabling resolutions as fine as 10 um with a working
distance of up to 5cm. It's already being used in the semiconductor
packaging production process and will soon be applied to larger
area conformal surfaces such as automotive glass.
Electrohydrodynamic printing (EHD) uses an electric field
to 'pull' ink from a nozzle rather than relying on pressure to
'push' out the ink. Capable of traces as narrow as 1um, this
technique is currently being used to repair defects in TFT
backplanes. An emerging approach is to combine hundreds of
individually addressable nozzles within a single MEMS (micro
electromechanical system) chip promises to break the
resolution/throughput trade-off for small-scale additive
electronics manufacturing.
Impulse printing is an innovative technique in the early
stages of development that promises high throughput printing onto
3D surfaces, such as the edges of glass backplanes or 2.5D
semiconductor packaging. The approach utilizes a rapid heat pulse
from a controllable array of heating elements to expel ink from a
flat 'transfer surface' onto the target object. Since no nozzle is
used, ink can simultaneously be expelled from across the heated
'transfer surface'.
Comprehensive Overview
The digital electronics manufacturing methods outlined are
predicted to gain further traction, driven by a desire for greater
customizability, shorter product development cycles, and demand for
2.5D/3D electronics. IDTechEx's report, "Manufacturing Printed
Electronics 2023-2033", builds on 20 years of covering printed and
flexible electronics to explore these technologies and many
others, including roll-to-roll manufacturing. Drawing on
information from conference attendance and primary interviews, it
outlines the players, capabilities, trends, and requirements across
the printed electronics manufacturing space, helping to support
choices in product development and when scaling up to mass
production.
To find out more, including downloadable sample pages, please
visit www.IDTechEx.com/ManufacturingPE.
About IDTechEx
IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its
Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit
from emerging technologies. For more information, contact
research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.
Images Download:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/8hl68yjske1pcex3fe9tx/h?dl=0&rlkey=h8niilr7yxwos6hn24im6gc2v
Media Contact:
Lucy Rogers
Sales and Marketing Administrator
press@IDTechEx.com
+44(0)1223 812300
Social Media Links:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/IDTechEx
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/IDTechEx
Facebook: www.facebook.com/IDTechExResearch
Photo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2043076/IDTechEx_Digital_Printing_Techniques.jpg
Logo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478371/IDTechEx_Logo.jpg
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/can-electronics-manufacturing-join-the-digital-age-asks-idtechex-301784555.html