p3D Micro Dispensing Photonic Curing of Silver Nanoparticle Inks on Low Thermal Stability Molded Plastic Parts

摘要

In this paper, we describe an additive processing technique that would enable fast and reliable processing of conductive circuits upon a wide range of thermally molded plastics. Precise patterns of silver nanoparticle based pastes are printed on to 3D injection molded plastic parts and other 3D surfaces using a nScrypt micro dispensing tool and then processed in seconds using a NovaCentrix PulseForge flash lamp photonic curing system. The additive digital printing technique enables rapid manufacturing of intricate designs with quick turnaround time from design to production. The non-equilibrium heating technology enables sintering the nanoparticle based inks into high performance conductor circuits directly on 3D and 2D low thermal sensitive polymer materials. It will be demonstrated that the nanoparticle based pastes have a superior performance to the conventional polymer thick film pastes and that they are also more cost effective. Specific examples will be shown demonstrating how the combination of the two tools and processes could result in a versatile and cost effective additive manufacturing process. As of right now, there is no tool or combination of tools that could provide such a versatile design and production environment. The new process is faster, more cost effective, and more environmentally friendly compared to conventional processing techniques.