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Friends, this dude is one i consider a decent dd guy: NNDM fodder: (AND NNDM just made it to the space station with a board)Anonymous4 days ago A critical (and I believe very valuable) patent is about to be awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office. It is entitled “CHIP EMBEDDED PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS AND METHODS OF FABRICATION.” NNDM was sent the issuance fee notice by the USPTO on 8 February 2021. Typically, the patent is issued 6-8 weeks after this fee is paid by the inventor, after the inventor has received the notice of allowance. NNDM applied for the patent back on January 24, 2018. All this information can be retrieved from the USPTO's public search site. Why is this patent a blockbuster? It will protect NNDM’s method for 3D printing a circuit board with integrated circuits (chips) embedded in the board. Virtually any complex, small electronic device has one or more integrated circuits embedded in the circuit board, however it is typically done in a multistep process that attaches the chip. NNDM’s process embeds the chips by printing the board and all the chip’s interconnections to that board. This not only allows for far more capacity in a limited space, it can also reduce the electromagnetic interference by shielding the integrated circuit. The applications are literally unlimited. The CEO, Stern also mentioned the fact that next generation Dragoflies would have the capability to insert components (such as integrated circuits) into the print. A robotic arm places the embedded component into the appropriate spot as the printing process proceeds. Here are two quotes from the patent application: “State-of-the-art Chip embedding technology has become a necessity in the fabrication of complex electronics. With emphasis on IoT (internet of things), new applications with embedded sensors, driven by miniaturization and optimized packages for the different demands for the sensors—became urgent; as did an increase of complexity by embedding of chips with large number of interconnections and more.” “Provided herein are embodiments of systems methods and compositions for the direct inkjet printing of printed circuit board with embedded chip and/or chip packages using a combination of print heads with conductive and dielectric ink compositions, creating predetermined slots for locating the chips and/or chip packages and covering these with an encapsulating layer while maintaining interconnectedness among the embedded chips.” |
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