At the heart of most electrical devices are printed circuit boards (PCBs). These thick and sturdy – often green – boards host circuits and are what can be considered the brain of a remote control, a blender, or a TV screen. Instead of having rigid boards, more and more devices need thinner and possibly flexible solutions. The city of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, recently became home to a new factory for bending electronics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
TracXon<\/a>, a spin-off from the imec<\/a> and TNO<\/a>-partnered Holst Centre<\/a>, opened its foundry to produce hybrid printed electronics. These artifacts are the end result of a manufacturing process that uses conductive inks to print circuitry on materials like plastics and fabric. In the case of the Holst Centre spin-off, printing happens on thin plastic foils. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using this substrate to embed electronic components opens up a vast array of possibilities. Lighting, health monitoring devices, and electric vehicles battery management systems, thin and bending circuitry can serve them all. Moreover, this technology makes more efficient use of materials, using less of them and choosing glues and inks that can be recycled at their end of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All these advantages come without compromising on the product\u2019s accuracy. \u201cThe printers at our disposal allow us to achieve maximum detail. Every dot counts here, otherwise, the circuitry will not work. We can achieve pixel-size quality, thanks to the combination of materials, processes, and people”, underlines Ashok Sridhar, CEO of TracXon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An over 20-meter-long clean room hosts the roll-to-roll production line. All the necessary equipment is stacked in close succession. \u201cHere we can continuously print hundreds of meters of circuitry”, explains one of TracXon\u2019s employees amid the hubbub produced by the machinery. There, foil spools slowly unwind, as they proceed through the line. First comes the printing, with the robotic head scanning the foil and then injecting circuitry. A few seconds later, the foil reaches the curing station, where \u2013 like any charcuterie’s ham drying facility \u2013 air blows at a controlled temperature. This prevents boards to stick while drying the freshly printed boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This production line will soon include machinery for light treatment of the flexible circuit boards between printing and curing. Once the curing is over, the foils are ready to be laser-cut \u2013 either by TracXon itself or their customers, depending on their will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the assembly lab, electric components are placed on the printed film. Foils pass under a robot that accurately scans them, understanding where to place every little component. After spraying glue, the printer uses a vacuum to pick and place the components. The boards then pass through an oven to dry. Both printing lines assure accuracy, as the company is eyeing laser circuitry printing as the next addition to its capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPrinting and curing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n