A conductive thermoplastic can be used with low-cost, hobbyist 3D printers to produce complete, customized electronic devices, such as this computer game controller.
(Source: University of Warwick)
When they say they are trying to make the wires and cables, are they inferring the use of a combination of plastics and sintering printing? That would be incredible to mix the two technologies, then you could truly create some awsome things.
Thanks, everyone--isn't this fun? I think it was only a matter of time once the industry achieved the ability to "print" flexible electronics via lithography, as DN has covered in the past: http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=249722
A human, didn't they try that in "Weird Science"?
Getting rid of interconnections would be huge, it really consumes alot of space and cost to run wires around a housing.
Wow, what will be available for 3D printing next--a human being?? :) I'm just kidding, of course, but this story is impressive! Printing sure has come a long way from dot-matrix, hasn't it? Look forward to more developments in this area and the potential for doing this commercially someday. If it progresses I forsee a whole new era of at-home inventions and armchair mad professors being inspired!
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