Laser-based Generation of Conductive Circuits on Additive Manufactured Thermoplastic Substrates

Abstract Shorter production cycles and development times for molded interconnect devices (MID) result in increasing production of cost intensive injection molding tools. Thus, a manufacturing technology for a fast and flexible production of complex prototypes and small series without the use of additional tools is needed. A possible solution is the layerwise manufacturing of mechatronic components by fused deposition modeling (FDM). By additionally embedding electronical components during the additive manufacturing process, electronic functions can also be integrated. In this paper, an experimental investigation for printing of conductive circuits on FDM components by dispensing silver ink and subsequently sintering by laser irradiation is determined. To prevent infiltration of silver ink into the matrix material after application, important process parameters will be optimized getting a media-tight surface.