$2M in Electronics 3D Printers Offered to Army Buyer by Optomec – 3DPrint.com

Whereas we’re nonetheless not in a position to 3D print a whole iPhone without delay, electronics 3D printing could also be progressing extra shortly than most individuals would possibly discover. A pioneer on this area is Optomec, Inc., which develops not simply directed vitality deposition 3D printers however a line of techniques able to 3D printing supplies for electronics manufacturing. Now, the corporate has introduced that it has bought six of those Aerosol Jet machines to an current buyer, who now owns a complete of 20 such 3D printers. The value of the order totals over $2 million.

The Aerosol Jet line is exclusive in its capacity to spray an ultrafine mist of supplies onto non-planar and planar surfaces. Whereas this might imply all kinds of feedstock, together with organic materials, it’s more and more getting used for semiconductor packaging and printed circuit board (PCB) meeting. One key use case for Aerosol Jet is that of electronics producer LITE-ON Cell, which makes use of the know-how to 3D print antenna onto cellphones (proven beneath). Samsung additionally bought an Aerosol Jet machine in 2019.

The most recent model of the Aerosol Jet collection is the HD2 3D printer, launched final yr.  This machine is optimized for semiconductor packaging, dishing out conformal 3D interconnects between substrates, chips, elements, and dies. This makes it potential to print 3D interconnects that hyperlink chips to different chips, circuit boards and even instantly onto an finish product. This newest order will see the client’s very first HD2 printer put in, together with recipes for conductive and insulating supplies from Optomec.

Semiconductor Packaging examples exhibiting Printed 3D Interconnects for 3D stacked die (l), mmWave (c), and flex circuit (r). Picture courtesy of Optomec.

Optomec doesn’t disclose who the client is, besides to say that it makes over $25 billion in annual gross sales and are massive in manufacturing digital techniques for the aerospace and protection sectors. It has additionally been an Aerosol Jet buyer for over 5 years. If all goes properly, the client is planning on including extra 3D printers to its operation with a aim of getting greater than 30 over the subsequent yr.

“Optomec is lucky that lots of its prospects are on the vanguard in adopting Additive Manufacturing in real-world manufacturing purposes,” stated David Ramahi, Optomec CEO. “This specific consumer is really a standout in main the cost in the case of implementation of 3D Additive Electronics, having shipped 100,000s of merchandise manufactured utilizing Optomec’s Aerosol Jet answer for superior semiconductor packaging.”

The Aerosol Jet HD2 3D printer from Optomec. Picture courtesy of Optomec.

That is clearly an enormous win for Optomec, which is arguably main the cost in electronics 3D printing on account of the truth that its know-how is definitely getting used within the mass manufacturing of client items. We’re nonetheless undecided what precisely these items are, however there’s a risk that you simply’re carrying one round in your pocket.