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| Image: Reddit |
Moore's Law has reached a stalemate, as researchers wait for a breakthrough technology that can not only reduce but also modify microchips. As smartphone manufacturers vie to cram more functionality into smaller devices, they may turn to electronics 3D printing to accomplish so.
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| Examples of semiconductor packaging created with Optomec's Aerosol Jet 3D printing platform, including Printed 3D Interconnects for 3D stacked die (l), mmWave (c), and flex circuit (r). IMAGE COURTESY OPTOMEC, INC. |
Users of electronics 3D printers, on the other hand, are frequently kept anonymous due to the secrecy around product development. In order to figure out who is using this cutting-edge technology, certain conclusions must be made. This raises the question of whether Apple is looking into 3D printing for electronics. Yes, it appears to be the case. We need to look at a little startup called Optomec to understand why.
Antennas printed in 3D
Optomec was able to market its first Aerosol Jet machine in 2003, which could spray conductive inks onto three-dimensional surfaces. The advantages of the technology were obvious to hardware developers: by printing electronics directly onto a device, it would be feasible to make devices thinner by eliminating the need for a printed circuit board (PCB), and electronics could also conform to the shape of the item. An antenna or sensor, for example, might theoretically curl around the edge of a smartphone.
The financial benefits to Optomec were also obvious. "As one measure of scale, we look to the existing large equipment markets for semiconductor packaging and PCB assembly, where current spends are over $5 billion per year, with more than 10,000 machines shipped annually—and an installed base in the hundreds of thousands," said David Ramahi, the company's CEO and President.
Aerosol Jet would have to go from a prototyping to a mass-production technology to obtain those gains. One customer, Lite-On Mobile, a Taiwanese business that manufactures antennas and other electronic components for major mobile device manufacturers such as Huawei, Oppo, and Sony, realized this in 2016.
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| IMAGE COURTESY: OPTOMEC, INC. |
The Aerosol Jet printer had been set up to spray electric traces onto many items at once. Lite-On was able to print "sensors, antennas, and other functioning electronics onto plastic components and covers... and even onto glass panels and ceramic materials," according to Henrik Johansson, then-senior manager of Technology Development for Antennas at the company. The company also claimed that the technique was being used to manufacture millions of devices.
Electronics 3D Printing's Expansion
Over 350 Aerosol Jet systems have been implemented by Optomec with some of the world's most prestigious enterprises and organizations. GE, Lockheed Martin, Google, BAE, Panasonic, Johnson & Johnson, General Motors, Meta, and Cicor are among the companies involved, as are the US Departments of Defense, Energy, and NASA. It's worth mentioning that Nascent Objects, a firm with a method for 3D printing modular electronic components, was acquired by Meta in 2016, when it was still Facebook.
While Lite-3D On's Direct Printing service for antennas and sensors has since been removed from its website, Samsung did buy an Aerosol Jet machine in 2019 with the intention of making consumer devices. Lite-On had made grandiose claims about 3D printing circuits onto millions of devices three years prior. Three years is a lifetime in the world of smartphone development.
Perhaps more intriguing is the fact that Henrik Johansson, who formerly worked for Lite-On, joined Apple in 2018, just a year before Samsung officially indicated interest in the technology. He brought along a Lite-On colleague, Max Landaeus, who was in charge of antenna development at the Taiwanese company. They formed a new Apple development team together.
Despite the fact that 3D printing smartphone components is technically possible, Apple has yet to use Aerosol Jet 3D printers in production. "Only roughly 75 of those machines are allocated to genuine production, creating components and devices that our users send to their end consumers, which equates to millions of end goods fielded," Ramahi said of the 350 Aerosol Jet systems installed worldwide.
"Keep in mind that, while directly printed 3D antenna and sensors are gaining pace, our machines are also being utilized in production for sophisticated 3D semiconductor packaging, which is key to realizing Moore's Law's benefits at a system level," Ramahi noted. Tens of billions of dollars in annual investment for new fab capacity by top chip manufacturers, as well as government initiatives in the United States and key Asian countries, are accelerating developments in this field. It's turned into a kind of weapons competition."
Is Apple a Client?
Ramahi was unable to confirm or deny if Apple was a customer, and this author has yet to receive a response from the tech behemoth. Ramahi, on the other hand, was able to give us an overview of the state of electronics 3D printing in general.
"It's crucial to remember that when it comes to real-world manufacturing applications, electronics 3D printing is still a new technology." When it comes to the manufacture of the items that the company sends to its own consumers, it's always tough to convince industry to embrace new techniques," Ramahi added. "...[C]urrent penetration rates are, to put it bluntly, insignificant, and while we as a supplier predict ongoing very strong growth rates, we are merely scratching the surface."
Can we infer that Apple is just another client that hasn't been officially disclosed, given that Samsung, Google, Meta, and Panasonic are among Optomec's clients? At the absolute least, we can assume that the corporation is investigating 3D printing for electronics. iPhones with 3D printed antennae, on the other hand, are not yet in any pockets. According to Ramahi, it will take another ten years for their technique to become pervasive in most ordinary consumer electronics.
"...I believe it will take at least a decade to establish 3D printed electronics as a truly mainstream production option, with thousands of machines shipped each year." Notably, it will be used for a wide range of applications, rather than only antennas, as we can already see," Ramahi stated.
