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Additively manufactured multi-material free-form structure with printed electronics

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Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) technique can help reduce time, cost, and complexity of the manufactured parts apart from adding functionality. This work explores AM techniques, namely fused deposition modeling (FDM) and PolyJet printing to fabricate a free-form structure with embedded electrical components. Both additive manufacturing technologies are discussed, analyzed, and compared. Another additive manufacturing method is then employed to print the electronic circuitry inside to connect the components. High-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT) is employed to investigate the dimensional accuracy of the printed parts. This work demonstrates an innovative approach to construct arbitrary 3D objects with fully functional electronic circuits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Guo Liang Goh, Shweta Agarwala, Guo Dong Goh, Heang Kuan Joel Tan & Wai Yee Yeong

  2. National Metrology Centre (NMC), A*STAR, 1 Science Park Drive, Singapore, 118221, Singapore

    Liping Zhao

  3. Biomedical Engineering Centre, School of Engineering Electronic & Computer Engineering Division, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, 535 Clementi Road, Singapore, 599489, Singapore

    Tong Kuan Chuah

Authors
  1. Guo Liang Goh
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  2. Shweta Agarwala
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  3. Guo Dong Goh
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  4. Heang Kuan Joel Tan
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  5. Liping Zhao
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  6. Tong Kuan Chuah
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  7. Wai Yee Yeong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wai Yee Yeong.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure S1

(a) Image of (a) silver nanoparticle and (b) carbon paint ink on PolyJet printed substrate. Optical microscope images for (c) silver nanoparticle and (d) carbon paint printed track lines (PPTX 10559 kb).

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Goh, G. ., Agarwala, S., Goh, G.D. et al. Additively manufactured multi-material free-form structure with printed electronics. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 94, 1309–1316 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0972-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0972-z

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