3D printing developed at Warwick

**Researchers within the School of Engineering at Warwick have been working towards the development of new materials which could one day allow people to print out custom-designed personal electronics.**

Applications of this 3D electronic printing could vary from games controllers designed to perfectly fit different individuals’ hand shape, to customising the design of an item found on the internet which could then be printed and ready for use in a matter of hours.

The research team, led by Dr Simon Leigh, have created a conductive plastic composite which is both simple and inexpensive. This material can conduct electricity and be used in a normal 3D printer, along with off-the-shelf plastics.

{{quote People could one day print out customised television remote controls or game controllers }}

With the nickname ‘carbomorph’, this new material enables a designer to lay down electronic tracks and sensors which will then constitute part of a 3D printed structure. This carbomorph can also have piezoresistive pressure sensors allowing the printer to create touch-sensitive areas for example.

The material has so far been used by the research team to embed flex sensors or touch-sensitive buttons in computer game controllers that can tell not only that the user is pressing a button, but how firmly or softly the button is being pressed.

The team has also created a mug which can tell how much liquid it has in it.

The current aim is the development and printing of more complex structures and electronic components. This will include the wires and cables required to connect the various devices to computers.

Dr Leigh said: “It’s always great seeing the complex and intricate models of devices such as mobile phones or television remote controls that can be produced with 3D printing, but that’s it, they are invariably models that don’t really function.

“We set about trying to find a way in which we could actually print out a functioning electronic device from a 3D printer.

“In the long term, this technology could revolutionalise the way we produce the world around us, making products such as personal electronics a lot more individualised and unique and in the process reducing electronic waste.”

Euan Long, third-year engineering student, commented: “That sounds well alright! Tekkers to the department for being on the front foot, with all of these new and life-altering developments.”

With regards to the application of this technology for students, Dr Leigh added: “In the short term I can see this technology having a major impact in the educational sector for example, allowing the next generation of young engineers to get hands-on experience of using advanced manufacturing technology to design fairly high-tech devices and products right there in the classroom.”

The team’s research can be found in the paper ‘A simple, low-cost conductive composite material for 3D printing of electronic sensors’, published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.