Fiber Encapsulation Additive Manufacturing: Materials for Electrical Junction Fabrication

Fiber Encapsulation Additive Manufacturing (FEAM) is a novel 3-D printing process that permits the printing of electromechanical and electronic devices within a single, affordable machine. A key challenge of FEAM is creating robust and reliable electrical junctions between encapsulated wires, enabling more complex devices and circuits to be fabricated. We present current efforts to explore and characterize several different methods for creating junctions: solder, solder paste, and a custom-formulated electrically conductive polymer composite. All three methods are analyzed in terms of printability, material compatibility, repeatability, and performance.