3D Printed Electronics Hit the Road – An Overview of Automotive Industry Applications
3D printing is affecting the way engineers design in the automotive industry. The technology is already used in the industry, currently mostly for plastic and metal spare parts. Additive manufacturing has opened the door for newer designs, safer products, shorter lead times and lower costs. Moreover, it will be an enabler for the automotive industry to adapt towards the new smart mobility requirements.
With 3D printed electronics, even more applications are in sight. Engineers can now design the electronics to fit a certain part, rather than designing parts around electronics as before. The design is no longer limited to flat printed circuit boards, things get three-dimensional. Furthermore, electronics can be printed using a variety of techniques- inkjet, analog, so there is a lot of room for innovation.
Several companies in the market are already printing sensors, circuit boards, and more. We talked to a few of the speakers at the 3D Printing Electronics Conference, which is organised annually by Jakajima in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. They see a lot of potential for 3D printed electronics in the automotive field.
Replacing the buttons- Mahmoud Tavakoli, Professor at the University of Coimbra and Project Manager at the Institute of Systems and Robotics, Portugal
3D Printed steering wheels? - Hans van de Mortel, Owner, Metafas, The Netherlands
Windscreens and heater patterns. Great potential for OEMS - Martin Hedges, Managing Director, Neotech AMT GmbH, Germany
A similar revolution as the step from black & white to full colour printing on paper - René van der Meer – Senior Printhead Architect – Océ, The Netherlands
You can view the entire article with pictures here.
We also organise an Automotive 3D Printing Conference. You can check the program here https://www.automotive3dprintingconference.com/program/
Stay Tuned
Onze
partners