Speaker
Dr
Martin Dressler
(Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM)
Description
3D screen printing is an additive manufacturing technique based on the combination of screen printing and sintering. It is well suited for the manufacture of parts with fine details, complex structures, cavities and material combinations. Ceramic and metal powders are processed into suspensions which are deposited using a screen printing screen. Repetition of this process allows for a layer by layer build-up of parts with a resolution of ~10 µm. Walls as thin as 100 µm can be prepared as well as openings and channels with openings as narrow as 80 µm. Thin structures with an width/high aspect ratio of 1/30 can be printed as well as overhangs and cavities. Since this technique does not use any support structures intricate cavities with narrow openings or even sealed off cavities can be obtained. 3D screen printing is economically suitable for a wide range of lot sizes. It is possible to apply 3D screen printing for small lots having only a few parts as well as mass production scale manufacture of 100,000 parts/yr. and more, depending on the part dimensions and respective machine parameters. A wide range of materials can be processed (ceramics e.g. Al2O3, ZrO2, metals like e.g. iron, stainless steel, copper, refractories, rare earth metals). Even ceramic/metal material combinations are possible. The presentation will outline the 3D screen printing process steps like preparation of screen printing suspensions and debindering/sintering of screen printed green parts. Application examples will give an overview of possible 3D screen printed designs, examples of which can be seen in Figure 1.
JUSTIFICATION FOR THE CONSIDERATION
Dear Sir or Madam,
We would like to present an interesting additive manufacturing technology, i.e. 3D screen printing, which combines high resolution and high throughput. We believe this technology is ideally suited for the manufacture of antenna components and other electronic devices. 3D screen printing is well suited for the manufacture of parts with fine details, complex structures, cavities and material combinations. It is mass production capable and based on readily available machinery. Our goal is to promote this technology and bring it to the attention of the RF/microwave community. We would be delighted if you consider our presentation for showing at the workshop.
Yours sincerely
Martin Dressler
Primary author
Dr
Martin Dressler
(Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM)
Co-authors
Prof.
Bernd Kieback
(Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM)
Dr
Thomas Studnitzky
(Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM)
