When multi-billion dollar markets collide
By Canadian Packaging staff
General Coding & Labeling 3D printing consumer-level 3D printed electronics From 2D to 3D Printed Electronics 2015-2025 IDTechEx ResearchThe 2D to 3D Printed Electronics sector set to boom according to ISTechEx Research report.
In 2012 a tsunami of media hype began around consumer 3D printing that turned what had been described as a lackluster 30-year-old printing technology into a household name and created massive growth in the industry even among large established players.
The same pattern of hype is about to repeat with the advent of consumer-level 3D printed electronics—a collision of the multi-billion dollar markets for printed electronics and 3D printing.
The impact this will have is detailed in the brand new IDTechEx Research report From 2D to 3D Printed Electronics 2015-2025.
A raft of new technologies are coming to market that span everything from traditional flat and rigid 2D printed circuit boards to fully 3D printed electronics.
Existing consumer-level 3D printers can use several different kinds of conductive thermoplastics. Several Kickstarter projects are commercializing a variety of technologies that allow simple flat circuit boards to be created quickly and easily. One company is developing an equivalent technology for professional PCB (printed circuit board) prototyping. Several companies are competing for the mass production of antennas using different technologies to print on arbitrary 3D surfaces.
Finally, Voxel8 are bringing to market the first machine that allows highly conductive and insulating materials to be 3D printed in order to make objects that solve both mechanical and electrical challenges.
The technologies covered in the report include inkjetting, extrusion and Optomec’s Aerosol Jet, and the materials covered include:
- Metals;
- Conductive and insulating thermoplastics;
- Conductive and insulating inks;
- Conductive pastes;
- Conductive photopolymers
The relative advantages and disadvantages of all valid combinations of technologies and materials is assessed quantitatively.
Potential applications include:
- Mass customization of circuits;
- Flexible circuits;
- Non-flat circuits;
- Rapid prototyping of traditional PCB designs 100x more quickly, 8x more cheaply and without putting core IP at risk;
- Mass production of antennas on curved surfaces for mobile and wearable devices;
- Educational use of relatively cheap and simple single- and double-layer circuits and experimentation with 3D printed electrical devices such as electromagnets and even motors.
These applications and more are assessed in detail and the potential for 3D printed electronics is examined both in the context of incumbent technologies such as PCB etching and competing technologies such as laser direct structuring (LDS).
Major growth areas likely to accelerate the adoption of 3D printed electronics even further include:
- Flexible and stretchable electronics for wearable technologies, forecast to reach $70-billion by 2025;
- Structural electronics, forecast to reach tens of billions of dollars by 2025.
The potential impact of these adjacent developments and the effect they may have on the 3D printed electronics market is discussed.
Led by interviews, the report From 2D to 3D Printed Electronics 2015-2025 (www.IDTechEx.com/3dpe) covers all of the applications, technologies, materials, players and markets that will be affected by the transition to 3D printed electronics and discusses the impact this will have. Affected markets include the $80-billion PCB market and the $15-billion antenna market. In many cases there are compelling reasons for industries to adopt 3D printed electronics over the next decade, ultimately leading to forecast that the market for 3D printed electronics will be worth at least $1-billion by 2026.
For more information on the IDTechEx Research report see www.IDTechEx.com/3dpe.
And to learn more attend the event IDTechEx Show! USA 2015 in California in November – see www.IDTechEx.com/usa.
About IDTechEx
IDTechEx helps guide strategic business decisions through its Research and Events services, helping companies profit from emerging technologies. It provides independent research, business intelligence and advice to companies across the value chain based on its core research activities and methodologies providing data sought by business leaders, strategists and emerging technology scouts to aid their business decisions. Learn more at www.IDTechEx.com.
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