Refer: http://www.3ders.org/
US Air Force and the American Chemical Society unveiled 3D printing technology to develop flexible hybrid electronic materials that are small, compact, powerful and above all able to withstand extreme external pressures. This can benefit from these next-gen replacements of the PCB.
This was unveiled at a press conference by the American Chemical Society in the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
As explained by Air Force Research Laboratory they are working towards the next generation of flexible, bendable and stretchable electronics to replace the rigid printed circuit board and the vulnerable electronics we are currently limited to.
They mixing traditional electronics with flexible, high-performance electronics and new 3-D printing technologies per Leever, Ph.D. They also incorporate ‘inks,’ which are based on metals, polymers and organic materials, to tie the system together electronically.
The key as explained is liquid gallium alloys which they use as interconnecting material. This approach has enabled them to create circuitry in extremely tight spaces and even integrate them in a person skin or in the curved surfaces of aircraft.
They will continue to expand this innovative application over the next five years as part of the Defense-led Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute with creation of the institute in late 2014. Over the next five years, they have a budget of $75 million to encourage the domestic development
