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A step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics

(news.mit.edu)
183 points gmays | 2 comments | 21 Oct 24 01:17 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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LASR ◴[21 Oct 24 07:06 UTC] No.41901467[source]▶
I am a fan of 3D printing. And I think you can probably get some circuit traces 3D printed for some niche applications.

But active electronics? That's a huge stretch. But more importantly, the economics just doesn't make sense. Components already cost fractions of a cent. Small-run PCB prototyping is like <$25 for 5 boards or so.

"A step toward..."

Maybe. But why?

replies(2): >>41901698 #>>41904975 #
1. seanthemon ◴[21 Oct 24 07:49 UTC] No.41901698[source]▶
in places where you have a 3d printer but you don't have an active shipping line that can easily reach you. You can easily prototype things or build electronics.

I also don't see this as the final result, printers could be purpose built for this to speed up production and make size smaller

replies(1): >>41905948 #
2. dsv3099i ◴[21 Oct 24 16:46 UTC] No.41905948[source]▶
I suppose, but the 3D printer requires consumable inputs. So without active shipping that printer is going to have a very limited lifetime. There’s always a corner case, like having to 3D print on Mars or something, but thats a niche of a niche.