Additive Manufacturing in Electronics – Filament Overview and Special Focus on Carbon Black Filament Properties Investigation

Advantages of 3D printing have led to its use in most diverse industries plus the low budget segment in printed electronics. Printing of FDM-printed PCBs with a low budget printer is possible e.g., a connection for small low power sensor and visualisation applications. Already the filaments research for additive manufacturing shows, that the FDM-printed PCB conductivity must be significantly lower compared to copper use. The investigation of FDM-printed PCBs versus conventional PCBs regarding their current-carrying capacity and thermal properties confirm comparable results. The conductive filament can only safely conduct currents in the single-digit mA range at wider cross-sections. Upon higher current application, it exhibits hot conductor properties and a permanently lower conductor resistance. The results reveal new uses, and these provide the opportunity for further investigations.