Yes, now it’s possible to print electronics like a circuit or IC with nanoscale resolution 3D printers.
Researchers have developed a new process that allows 3D printing of metals on a nanoscale with a focus on metamaterials.
The developers are hopeful that this will revolutionize the 3d-printer market as it creates the capability to print objects from metals, plastics, and other materials in a wide range of shapes.
The process was started by a research team from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina led by Dr. Suman Datta.
The process employs design software to determine the final structure of the object.
It then creates an open-source 3D printer with multiple nozzle heads that dispense metal powder using high-precision robotic arms known as gantry systems.
This allows for 3D printing of multi-material objects where one head is used for dispensing materials like plastics or ceramics while another head is used for dispensing metals at nanoscale resolution, usually 20 micrometers or below.
Manufacture time varies based on size and amount of orifices in the printers but it can reach up to 1000 m/hour.
However, since this is a new process it is still expensive when compared with traditional methods of manufacturing.
The design software developed by the team can be downloaded online and costs $150 but the price may come down in the future.
Researchers were able to print metamaterial devices with properties such as sharp bends, flat surfaces, wide bandwidths, and tunable resonances using metals like silver and gold at nanoscale resolution.
They believe that 3D printing can benefit fields as diverse as aerospace engineering and biological imaging for cancer detection.
Additionally, researchers are hopeful that they will be able to print highly sensitive antennas.
Researchers also believe that this process can help advance the development of electric circuits which are currently made on flat substrates.
Objects like plates, corrugated sheets, and films can now be manufactured in a single step using nanoscale resolution 3D printing.
Nanoscale resolution 3D printing is already being used by researchers where they have manufactured all-metal acoustic devices and other nanomaterials.
Researchers believe that this process will be adopted in hospitals as well, specifically for the production of medical implants made from titanium or tungsten.
According to Dr. Datta, “The advantage of this new approach is that we can use the same technology platform — fused deposition modeling equipment – for multi-material additive manufacturing and quickly switch from one material to another within seconds.”
Dr. Datta further stated, “This makes it much easier than before to manufacture devices that combine two or more different materials at once”.
Some applications include integrated circuits which require two metals such as silicon (Si) and gold (Au), or a combination of organic materials with metal and semiconductors.
Using traditional manufacturing techniques would require two separate production lines that are difficult to access for researchers. The promise of 3D printing is the ability to manufacture such multi-materials in one step, which results in lower costs.
Researchers believe that 3D printed electronics will be able to replace more expensive devices like a lab on chips while also being less time-consuming.