Communications of the ACM
3D Printed Electronics Are Here, Researchers Say
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and National Chiao Tung University used a 3-D printer to fabricate the electrical components of a food-spoilage detector for milk cartons.
Credit: University of California, Berkeley
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and National Chiao Tung University have demonstrated a method for three-dimensional (3D) printing of electrical components.
The researchers used the 3D printed components to create a milk carton screw-on cap that senses if the milk inside has spoiled.
"We have shown that resistors, inductors, and capacitors can be fabricated using a 3D printer and formed into circuits as passive wireless sensors," says Berkeley professor Liwei Lin.
The 3D printer used for the proof-of-concept prototype had a resolution of 30 microns, and a liquid paste containing silver particles was used to fill the electronic components and interconnects.
The milk bottle cap functions by rotating the carton so a sample of milk gets trapped in the top cavity of the sensor, which formed the top plate of a capacitor.
The researchers next will attempt to 3D print the metallic materials at the same time the rest of the components are printed, using a system that can handle both polymers and metals.
To prove the concept, the researchers plan to 3D print implantable medical devices that can monitor medical parameters.
From EE Times
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2015 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found