While Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing is the most widely-used AM process, there is a wide range of applications that the technology cannot enable – especially on the growing 3D printed antenna and electronic market.
According to Kupros, a US-based company that develops an all-metal conductive copper filament, the reason for the lack of applications in this area is due to the limited availability of inks. A lack of electrically conductive inks that exhibit low resistance values curbs the design possibilities of material extrusion. FFF inks that are tailored for conductivity have a discrete cost-benefits tradeoff – either they are not conductive enough to run more than a simple light circuit or they require extensive post processing, the company says.
To address this issue, the startup develops an all-metal conductive copper filament named Cu-29. Military veteran entrepreneurs behind the startup utilized government owned IP to fill technology gaps within the market.
“Proprietary additives to the filament make it printable within standard temperature ranges of FFF printers needing only a harder extruder nozzle and no post processing. By utilizing our proprietary blend, real copper is able to be extruded under the normal operating temperatures of FFF printers. Because the materials utilized in our ink are all electrically conductive with a relatively similar conductivity the limiting factor is only the Nordheim Coefficient of the Nordheim Rule”, a press communication reads.
Interestingly, there is no need of post-processing with this metal 3D printing process. The range of resistivity is 2.5*10-7 Ω*Cm to 8*10-7 Ω*Cm based on the material processing. Furthermore, testing reveal that Cu-29 delivers low resistivity, which means it can imitate traditional wiring fairly closely allowing for the creation of AM RLC (resistor, inductor, capacitor) circuits. The capabilities of AM mean that Cu-29 could be used to create non-planar circuits. It also has applications within the antenna market.
Needless to say Kupros will continue its investigation to explore the properties of the material and applications in the electronics industry. However, its ability in its current state already enables to achieve certain applications with recommended settings for optimal printing.
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