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    3D Printing & Embedded Electronics

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    Santiago Patitucci
    3D printing enables smarter objects by allowing electronics and sensors to be embedded during manufacturing. This provides benefits like pre-assembled drones printed with circuit boards and housings. Sensors can also be embedded in pipes to monitor pressure and temperature, and in 3D printed medical devices and casts to track patient recovery. Cars can be 3D printed with embedded chips to identify parts and trigger maintenance alerts. Conductive inks are also being used to 3D print sensors directly into objects like prosthetics and robot hands.

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    3D Printing & Embedded Electronics

    Uploaded by

    Santiago Patitucci
    43 views7 pages
    3D printing enables smarter objects by allowing electronics and sensors to be embedded during manufacturing. This provides benefits like pre-assembled drones printed with circuit boards and housings. Sensors can also be embedded in pipes to monitor pressure and temperature, and in 3D printed medical devices and casts to track patient recovery. Cars can be 3D printed with embedded chips to identify parts and trigger maintenance alerts. Conductive inks are also being used to 3D print sensors directly into objects like prosthetics and robot hands.

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    3D printing enables smarter objects by allowing electronics and sensors to be embedded during manufacturing. This provides benefits like pre-assembled drones printed with circuit boards and housings. Sensors can also be embedded in pipes to monitor pressure and temperature, and in 3D printed medical devices and casts to track patient recovery. Cars can be 3D printed with embedded chips to identify parts and trigger maintenance alerts. Conductive inks are also being used to 3D print sensors directly into objects like prosthetics and robot hands.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    43 views7 pages

    3D Printing & Embedded Electronics

    Uploaded by

    Santiago Patitucci
    3D printing enables smarter objects by allowing electronics and sensors to be embedded during manufacturing. This provides benefits like pre-assembled drones printed with circuit boards and housings. Sensors can also be embedded in pipes to monitor pressure and temperature, and in 3D printed medical devices and casts to track patient recovery. Cars can be 3D printed with embedded chips to identify parts and trigger maintenance alerts. Conductive inks are also being used to 3D print sensors directly into objects like prosthetics and robot hands.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 7

    3D Printing & Embedded Electronics –

    How AM Enables Smarter Objects

    Home / Use Cases / 3D Printing & Embedded Electronics – How AM Enables Smarter Objects
    November 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

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    All throughout the world of modern manufacturing, 3D printing is adding unique


    functionalities to various products in ways traditional manufacturing cannot manage.
    The ability to produce complex geometries better enables engineers to embed sensors,
    chips, tags and other electronics into objects as it’s possible to model internal cavities
    and housing into 3D printed parts. Here are just some of the ways that additive
    manufacturing is leading towards smarter objects.

    Pre-Assembled 3D Printed Drones


    NTU’s Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) and Stratasys jointly developed a 3D
    printed drone with embedded electronics back in 2016. One of the hurdles of embedding
    electronics in a 3D printed part is getting the electronics to survive the printing process,
    which is typically very hot. Because this drone was printed in ULTEM, a high-
    temperature material, the heat problem was exacerbated. The creator of the drone, Mr
    Phillip Keane, an NTU PhD candidate, explains:

    “One of the toughest challenges was to find electronic components that could
    theoretically survive the high temperature printing process – we had to add some heat-
    proofing modifications to the components to ensure they could last. This involved
    adding new components to the printed circuit boards and also designing custom
    housings. The housings, which were pre-printed in ULTEM 9085, also provide a flat
    surface for the 3D printer to continue printing over them.”

    The entire printing process took only 14 hours and required only three pauses to place
    the electronics into the print. Only the motors and propellers were added after it was
    printed. Being made out of ULTEM makes it incredibly light and durable, capable of
    suspending 60kg on its chassis.
    Related Story

    ULTEM 3D Printers and Filament Guide

    Embedded Sensors For Remote Monitoring


    Embedding sensors within 3D printed parts allows for one-way and two-way
    communication with devices and appliances. This method of creating smart devices has
    lots of potential for a variety of industries that require remote monitoring.

    The ability to keep track of performance metrics and machine capabilities is particularly
    useful in industries with heavy engineering and maintenance responsibilities. This is
    why the concept of ‘smarter engineering through 3D printing’ has caught on at US
    Naval Labs, where engineers have been working on sensors that can detect changes in
    performance or even alert engineers to necessary repairs.

    Related Story

    Navy Engineer Develops Smart Parts For Naval Equipment Maintenance

    Similarly, Fabrisonic has been working with Luna Innovations, a fiber optics
    manufacturer, to develop smart sensors within pipes for NASA. These sensors could
    provide a great basis for monitoring pressure, temperature, and heat flux in the fuel
    systems of rockets. Generally, sensors are attached to the outside of pipes but that limits
    their accuracy; embedding the sensors in the walls of the pipes greatly improves their
    accuracy. The Fabrisonic Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) system was used
    to embed the sensors within metal pipes.

    Making 3D Printed Medical Devices Smarter


    The medical industry has also been a major proponent of 3D printed smart devices,
    creating responsive technologies for real-time monitoring of physiological events,
    advanced diagnostics, and connected feedback. One example comes from researchers
    at Curtin University in Western Australia, who developed 3D printed casts and braces
    that improve patient care with sensor feedback. The low-cost rehabilitation braces have
    inertial measurement sensors embedded inside that read and interpret acceleration and
    angular velocity.

    One of our main focuses at the moment is on the


    treatment, and here we can watch how people are doing
    their physiotherapy exercises, see how long they are doing
    them for. And because we have modeled the movement,
    we can see if they are doing the exercise correctly.Professor
    Murray, Curtin University

    Smart Vehicles & Automotive Manufacturing


    When BigRep’s LOCI pod car debuted at Formnext this week, it showed off the
    benefits of large-scale printing of automotive components. But they also highlighted
    their Part DNA technology, which allows them to infuse mechanical components with
    all sorts of chips and sensors. By embedding sensors and NFC chips into the 3D printed
    parts, engineers can track and scan them using a mobile device. As a result, parts are
    easily identifiable and can provide useful information. BigRep is already planning
    future designs with sensors that indicate machine status, trigger maintenance checks, or
    list replacement part information.
    To build LOCI, BigRep used a range of materials including the BigRep PRO HT (for
    the body), TPU (for the airless tires), PLX (for the bumpers), and PA6/66 (for beams
    and joints). The individual parts are embedded with NFC chips that provide information
    such as the part name, material type and batch ID, production date and location, and the
    next date of scheduled maintenance. Here’s what that info looks like.

    They refer to it as a “last mile transportation solution” for urban environments. The
    vehicle is also a demonstration of BigRep’s large-scale printing technology and their
    new engineering materials. The embedded sensors could include much more
    functionality in the future, providing security features and maintenance advice. On top
    of this, LOCI is heavily customizable. Users can request changes in the handling,
    materials, structural properties, tires, branding, and even integrate solar power.
    Related Story

    BigRep Unveils Four New Materials at FABTECH Chicago

    LOCI is more than a vehicle, it’s the evolution of


    personalized mobility. LOCI is an affordable solution for
    urban transportation, harnessing the agility of AM while
    also demonstrating the cost-efficient advantages of 3D
    printing for sustainable AM such as manufacturing
    personalized products on-site and on-demand.Daniel Buening,
    NOWLAB co-founder and BigRep CIO

    3D Printed Sensors
    Beyond just embedding traditionally-manufactured sensors into 3D printed parts,
    researchers are also using conductive inks to directly 3D print sensors into objects. A
    team out of Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS printed circuits into the fingers of a soft-
    robotics actuated hand to enable it to “feel” pressure, temperature, and motion. While
    this would be a great upgrade to many robotic systems, it would also dramatically
    improve prosthetic devices.

    The Internet of Things grows larger everyday and 3D printing is a big part of that
    connected ecosystem. The combination of complex geometries and multi-material
    fabrication make 3D printing the ideal manufacturing method for embedded electronics
    and sensors so expect to see more use cases like these

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