3D Printing Using Extrusion of Micro-Particles Dispensed in a Liquid

3D printing is a multipurpose additive manufacturing (AM) technique that allows for the creation of free

standing structures that can be fabricated solely from an appropriate building material. Conventional

manufacturing methods either require a mold or subtractive manufacturing (SM) which severely limits

the efficiency by providing excess material to make the desired structure. In turn, this makes for a

bulky product as not all of the support structure can be removed. For example, copper is currently

etched onto the surface of circuit boards, but if it were 3D printed, only the exact amount of copper

or conductive material would be needed to make the board. Also, if there is no desire for the board, a

three dimensional design can be used creating a ‘floating’ circuit as the medium required to start the

structure, but not necessarily required to continue the structure. In all, 3D printing produces out-of-

plane structures with compact and manageable options for support. We have been developing new

materials for 3D printing based on the extrusion of pastes composed of micro-scale particles dispensed

in a liquid.