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3D Printing of Custom Personal Electronics Arrives

Posted by Soulskill on from the print-all-the-things dept.

Zothecula writes "Researchers at the University of Warwick have created a cheap plastic composite that can be used even with low-end 3D printers, to produce custom-made electronic devices. The material, nicknamed 'carbomorph,' is both conductive and piezoresistive, meaning that both electronic tracks and touch-sensitive areas can now be easily embedded in 3D-printed objects without the need for complex procedures or expensive materials."

7 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Bye, bye iPhone by Toe,+The · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I just printed out a better phone.

    (Or is that still a ways off? Ahem.)

  2. hah by etash · · Score: 2

    can't wait to print my intel core 6 core 980X !!!

  3. Re:I think I may leap at this .. by wierd_w · · Score: 2

    Hmm...

    How about just an inkjet printer? Tri color cart, with the reservoir washed out. Fill one tank with silver nitrate, another with dextrose solution, and the third with a nonpolar resist solution. Fill the black cart with a clear varnish.

    Print the resist layer, back out the sheet until it is dry, feed it back in, and then print the silver and dextrose layers. Back out again, allow to cure. Rinse sheet, reload it, print the varnish.

    Done.

    It would be like silvering a mirror, only more selective.

  4. Re:impossible! by wierd_w · · Score: 2

    If the goal is "direct to market", then you are using 3d printing wrong.

    3d printing is really to help you in an intermediate process. Like building a mold, or a die, or testing a layout without wasting a lot of prep time.

  5. Prepare for 3D Printing Criminalization in 3, 2, 1 by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

    Just wait until the MegaCorps© figure out that being able to 3D print our own electronics means we don't need them anymore.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  6. One small step away from giant leap forward by next_ghost · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Insulators/structural support - check
    Conductors - check
    Inductors - check
    Resistors - check
    Capacitors - check

    Now all we need are two 3D-printable materials that can form a semiconductor and an extruder design that can automatically switch between all of those materials and the 3D printing bonanza will begin.

  7. Re:I'm waiting for... by loufoque · · Score: 2

    Most people enjoy cooking.