With all the acquisitions it conducted this year, we almost forgot that it’s been two years that Nano Dimension did not unveil a 3D printer designed for Additively Manufactured Electronics (AME).
The 3D printer manufacturer remedies this situation today as it announces the addition of the DragonFly IV printer and FLIGHT software platform to its portfolio of products. This launch is a new milestone in the company’s developments as if we know the company’s capabilities in hardware, this will be the first time that it unveils a software platform specifically designed for the 3D printed electronics field.
Together both technologies aim to increase flexibility to design any 3D geometry and create innovative new products.
DragonFly IV is a Dielectric & Conductive-Materials Additive Manufacturing System designed for the production of High-Performance Electronic Devices (Hi-PEDs®) by depositing the proprietary materials simultaneously, while concurrently integrating in-situ capacitors, antennas, coils, transformers, and electro-mechanical components.
J.A.M.E.S GmbH from Munich, Germany, is a joint venture with Hensoldt and a DragonFly IV beta-customer. According to its Chief Executive Officer, Andreas Muller: “Nano Dimension’s latest system, combined with the new FLIGHT software, enables the completion of complex jobs like no other AME system before. The J.A.M.E.S electronic design engineers’ community will greatly benefit from better access to AME solutions enabled by the FLIGHT software platform and the first-of-a-kind collaboration of ECAD/MCAD 3D design and testing.”
Main specifications of the 3D printer
DragonFly IV delivers improved accuracy of traces, spacing, and vias, improved PCB product quality, and the ability to design and produce 3D Hi-PEDs® in a one-step production process.
New capabilities include:
- Integration with Nano Dimension’s new FLIGHT software
- Integration of 3D elements in PCB
- 3D designed Hi-PEDs®
- Support of HDI level elements
- 75µm traces; 100µm spacing; 150µm via
- Enhanced print quality, optimizing yield with predictable conductivity
- Low thickness variation <5%
FLIGHT Software Package
Nano Dimension’s new FLIGHT software suite provides a comprehensive first-of-a-kind ability to incorporate ECAD designs into real 3D MCAD designs, as well as intelligent verification, slicing, and job control solutions. FLIGHT enables the 3D design of electrical and mechanical features in 3-dimensions while ensuring that the new product designs comply with the system’s requirements and can then proceed directly to fabrication on the DragonFly IV.
The Flight Software Suite consists of 3 components:
1-FLIGHT Plan: Allows designers to develop viable 3D AME using both existing 2D design data, and novel 3D data. Tests show that this reduces the 3D AME design time by up to 10 times.
- Integrates 3D MCAD and ECAD capabilities for 3D Electro-Mechanical design
- Imports existing designs from major ECAD systems
- Enables the use of customers’ existing design tools
2-FLIGHT Check: This application enables design rule checks so that the designs meet the DragonFly IV requirements and are ready for printing.
- Unifies design rules for ECAD that meet the constraints of DragonFly IV
- Reduces design iteration cycles
3-FLIGHT Control: Delivers an entirely new pre-production solution that enables concurrent fabrication of both 2D and 3D multi-material Hi- PEDs®, improving productivity.
- Integrates system and job management toolsets
- Supports new file formats (STL & ODB++)
- Improves user experience through better rendering accuracy and user interface
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