The Voxel8's 3D Electronics Printer, just announced at CES, is the first that can print both plastic and conductive material, allowing circuitry and the physical structure of an object to be printed simultaneously. The technology comes from research done at Harvard by Jennifer Lewis, one of Voxel8's founder.
Voxel8 prints in two materials using two nozzles. The object itself is made of PLA, a common plastic in 3D printing, while the circuitry is made of silver ink, which comes out of a pneumatic nozzle at room temperature and dries within minutes. That means one part can be added to another in the middle of the printing process; the printer bed can be removed and put back in once the parts are aligned. Printing will start where it left off, following instructions from a design file made in Autodesk's Project Wire, a new software made specifically for Voxel8's printer. In the software, designers add electronic components to existing CAD files and then wire the components in three dimensions.
Voxel8 will start shipping printers at the end of 2015. For $9,000, including a $500 deposit now, you can be among the first to receive a "standard" model. All models will come with PLA and conductive-silver inks. Eventually, Voxel8 engineers hope to add the ability to print resistors, stretchable electronics, and lithium-ion batteries.
Via VentureBeat.
Rachel Z. Arndt is the author of the essay collection Beyond Measure. Her writing has appeared in Quartz, The Believer, Fast Company, and elsewhere. She lives in Chicago.
