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Conformal Inkjet Direct Write on Aerospace Components

Conformal Inkjet Direct Write on Aerospace Components. Industrial Doctorate Centre and BAE Systems Mau Yuen Chan Prof. Alan Champneys Dr. Jagjit Sidhu Dr. Paul Warr. This Presentation. What is direct w rite (DW)? Differences in method to traditional lithography Benefits of DW?

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Conformal Inkjet Direct Write on Aerospace Components

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  1. Conformal Inkjet Direct Write on Aerospace Components Industrial Doctorate Centre and BAE Systems Mau Yuen Chan Prof. Alan Champneys Dr. Jagjit Sidhu Dr. Paul Warr

  2. This Presentation • What is direct write (DW)? • Differences in method to traditional lithography • Benefits of DW? • What advantages it brings • The challenges faced during the study • The DW system

  3. Direct Write • A freeform patterning and deposition technique • Completes patterning and deposition simultaneously • Encompasses different deposition techniques • Droplet • Laser • Flow • Tip • No single ‘perfect’ technique • Innovative applications

  4. Comparison to Convention • Lithography • Requires the use of masks • Large material wastage • Changes to designs costly • Etch step limits substrate material type • Substrates must be relatively planar • High capital cost • Direct Write • Freeform patterning • Low material wastage • Mass customisation • Variety of substrate materials possible • Substrates can be non-planar • Lower capital costs

  5. Benefits for • Benefits: • Higher material efficiency • Mass customisation • Increased design freedom • Integrated functionality • COPE Project • Replacing electronic wiring with DW solution

  6. The Helmet Shell • Aerospace Helmet used by pilots • Recognised as the most advanced helmet in the world • Undergoes further development to keep competitiveness • Even during the project study • Features: • Complex concave Shape • Carbon fibre substrate • Head tracking system; composed of LEDs and flexible connectors for wiring

  7. The DW Process Design Execution Evaluation

  8. Challenges

  9. Inks and substrates Electroplating Multi-discipline Mechatronics Physical Chemistry Printing system Multi-layers Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Computer Science Control Systems Electrochemistry Post-processing Thermal Science & Physical Chemistry DW printed component Business

  10. MasterCam® • The ‘creative brain’ • MasterCam is a CAD/CAM design software • Originally a software program for milling applications • Used to manipulate CAD models and design DW tracks • Output: Movement scripts for the motion controller

  11. 5-axis Motion Controller • The ‘arm’ • A motion control robot with five degrees of freedom giving it a large work envelop • All tools mounted onto working face • Required mechanical integration • Precision controlled (0.001mm accuracy) 150µm 100µm 50µm

  12. Inkjet Printer • The ‘pen’ • Single nozzle jetting device (MicroFab) • Inks used • Polymer dielectric ink • Silver conductive nanoparticle ink • Can jet many materials • May require post-processing to functionalise

  13. Bluewave® System • UV energy delivery system • Required for curing polymer dielectric ink • Controllable and localised output • Curing regime affects silver behaviour

  14. iCure™ System • Thermal spot delivery system for sintering • Delivers focussed broad-band optical energy • + Controlled thermal exposure • + Superior electrical properties than oven sintering • - Difficulty on thermally conductive substrates • - Inks needed to be modified to match process

  15. Thermal Damage • 4-point bend test used to investigate possible thermal damage caused by iCure process • Sintering requires at least 2.0W of energy • Speeds kept constant • Failure modes: • Compression – Resin failure • Tension – Fibre pull out • Significant loss in mechanical stability at more intense exposures

  16. Electroplating • Chosen as a method of improving electrical conductivity of DW tracks • Improvement to DW track conductivities (reaching ~50-70% bulk Cu) • Uses brush plating method to deposit copper • Several designs iterated: • Improvement to electrolyte flow • Higher current density • Lower surface damage to copper deposit • Be able to navigate around complex 3D structures • Automatic feed/extract system for fluid • Further improvements: • Use of local cathode ‘ring’ for local connection

  17. Connector Tabs • Communications with the manufacturer • Requirements capturing • Resolving needs and expectations • Suitable for existing processes • Several designs created for manufacturer’s approval • Final design: Connector tab (c) • Soldered into place • Flexible

  18. The DW Helmet • Aim: To replace chunky wiring in helmet shell with an integrated DW solution • DW elements successfully fabricated onto a section of the helmet shell • Hardware and DW elements were connected • DW elements passed preliminary round of aerospace durability tests

  19. Conclusions • DW electronics demonstrated on an aerospace component • Developed a process that can fabricate DW electronics onto complex 3D structures • Future work: • Innovative full DW solutions to electronic applications • Repair work on damaged DW components • Scaling of process for full manufacturing environments

  20. The End Questions?

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