Optomec, a leading global supplier of production grade additive manufacturing systems for 3D printed electronics and metals, showcased smart electronic devices printed by several of its Aerosol Jet customers at the IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA Conference held November 18-19 at the Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.

The smart devices include conformal antennas, sensors, heaters, EM shielding, and MEMs packaging produced by Optomec customers including United Technologies, Quest Integrated, Neotech Services, Fraunhofer, Florida State University, and the University of Massachusetts.

Optomec Aerosol Jet technology is used by a variety of industries to directly print functional electronic circuitry and components onto low-temperature, non-planar substrates, without the need for masks, screens, or plating. The Aerosol Jet process uses an aerodynamic focusing technique to collimate a dense mist of material-laden micro droplets into a tightly controlled beam to print features as small as 10 microns or as large as several millimeters in a single pass. A wide assortment of materials can be printed with the system including conductive nano-particle inks, polymers and epoxies, along with dielectrics, ceramics, and bio-active materials. Aerosol Jet systems are currently in use for high volume, 24X7, production of consumer electronic devices.