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3D-Printed Circuit Boards, For Solder-Free Printable Electronics

Posted by samzenpus on from the printing-hardware dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Check out the latest success of the OpenSCAD 3d-printed electronics library. To use it, you just need a 3D printer and some conductive thread. OpenSCAD generates a component holder, and conductive thread wraps it all together — no solder, no etching chemicals, no sending out for anything. The instructable takes you through all the steps from schematic to circuit, and includes a more useful example: the fully printed LED flashlight."

3 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Would you download a car? by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I might, and I'll be able to pretty soon, from the looks of things.

  2. Re:Opening new ways to generate a PCB by firex726 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Could they in effect print or incorporate certain components inside the PCB board?

    SMD resistors are pretty small, and if they were embedded it would free up more surface area for larger components and reduce overall size.

  3. Re:Clunky is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Meh, I make SMD boards simply with some copper clad board, a laser printer, and some home made etchant (cupric chloride). I either hand solder or use a hotplate with solder paste.

    Takes about 30 minutes from printing the circuit to finished product. Costs about $1 not including the parts I solder on and I have a high quality physically small product.