Additive manufacturing AM technology, i.e. 3DPE (3D Printed Electronics) are gaining attentions as a means to fabricate integrated electronic printing systems that are capable of both printing and packaging a complex electronics system. Recent advancements in multi-functional 3DPE includes aerosol jetting, material extrusion, machining, pick-and-place of components, in-process monitoring (e.g. laser scanner), and in-build curing. However, there is a critical need for a robust process planning framework to design, develop tool path and successfully fabricate complex and functional 3DP electronics, a robust process-planning methodology is required. Since most of the reported studies in process-planning and simulation of these systems are limited to planar surfaces and substrates, there is a critical need to develop a novel framework for functional 3DP electronics packaging focused on: (1) Parsing electronic components into “visibility” based sequence of operations, (2) Material and Functional constraints (e.g. printability, impedance of circuit components), (3) non-planar surfaces, and (4) machine envelope and tool configuration (e.g. multi-axis, tool head interference). In this study, a novel process planning heuristics is presented to fabricate complex 3DPE devices. Multiple 3DPE design case studies are presented to illustrate seamlessly generated tool path using a custom developed Python toolkit. This will greatly benefit the design and manufacturing community for a range of applications such as equipping new and existing air foils and drones with 3DPE, e.g. power solutions and sensors.

Novel framework for process planning to fabricate complex 3D printed electronic devices

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.