Rapid Production of Customized 3D Electronics Via Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Technology

This work proposes a novel hybrid additive manufacturing method integrating dual-material FDM 3D printing and selective electroless plating. Fused deposition modeling dual-material 3D printer is employed to fabricate 3D substrate consisting of platable and non-platable plastics according to CAD digital design. After proper surface treatments, only platable plastic is able to preserve the electroless catalysts and thereby metal film can be selectively deposited. This offers a convenient solution for freeform patterning of 3D circuitry. After electronic components mounting, a full-functional customized 3D electronic product is created. The adhesion of electroless metal film can achieve the highest grade (5B) of tape test, and the minimal resistivity obtained is 5 μΩ · cm with copper film. A 3D LED blinking circuitry was fabricated as demonstrators to prove the feasibility and potential of this technology.