A newly developed dielectric polymer ink and conductive ink from Nano Dimension, a specialist in additive manufacturing and printed electronics, was used by HENSOLDT to assemble the world's first 10-layer printed circuit board (PCB) which carries high-performance electronic structures soldered to both outer sides. Until now, 3D printed boards could not bear the soldering process necessary for two sided population of components.
“Military sensor solutions require performance and reliability levels far above those of commercial components.” explains HENSOLDT CEO, Thomas Müller. “To have high-density components quickly available with reduced effort by means of 3D printing gives us a competitive edge in the development process of such high-end electronic systems.”
Commenting Yoav Stern, Nano Dimension President & CEO adds, “Working together and learning from HENSOLDT led us to reach a first-of-its-kind in-depth knowledge of polymer materials applications. Additionally, it guided us in the development of Hi-PEDs (High Performance Electronic Device) that create competitive edges by enabling unique implementations with shortest time to market.”
Additively Manufactured Electronics (AME) are seen as useful to verify a new design and functionality of specialised electronic components before they go into production. AME is a highly agile and individual engineering methodology to prototype a new electronic circuitry and can result a significant reduction in both time and cost in the development process.
HENSOLDT started working with Nano Dimension’s DragonFly 3D printing system in 2016, in order to examine the possibilities of 3D printing electronics. Last year, HENSOLDT successfully implemented the DragonFly Lights-Out Digital Manufacturing (LDM) printing technology, which is the industry’s only additive manufacturing platform for round-the-clock 3D printing of electronic circuitry.
