With printed electronics making an impact in consumer, commercial, medical and specialty electronics markets, this year’s IPC APEX EXPO will feature a dedicated printed electronics area on the show floor, a printed electronics track in the technical conference, and historic standards development meetings where industry requirements for the manufacture and assembly of printed electronics will be discussed and developed.
Although the printing of active devices, such as thin film transistors (TFTs) for display backplanes and RFID, has been moving along the technology development curve for the past 10 years, and the printing of passive devices, such as membrane switches for a touch control panel on a microwave oven, is more than 25 years old, Dan Gamota, president of Printovate Technologies, sees 2012 as a turning point for the industry.
“Printed electronics is a lower-cost technology that provides greater product design freedom,” explains Gamota. “Innovative companies that recognise that fact are integrating printed electronics technologies in a variety of automotive, aerospace, communications, medical and smart grid applications, to get a jump on their competition.
Last year, IPC established a Printed Electronics Committee (D60) and five subcommittees (D61, D62, D63, D64 and 8-61) to develop standards to facilitate companies to seamlessly integrate printed electronics technologies in future products. These volunteer committees will meet at IPC APEX EXPO on 1–2 March to work on guidelines in printed electronics design, base materials/substrates, base materials, functional materials and final assembly as well as the development of a printed electronics technology roadmap.
In the exhibit hall, companies from around the world will represent all segments of the printed electronics supply chain, from raw materials (conductive inks and coated/laminated films) to equipment manufacturers to manufacturers of functional printed products. In addition, the technical conference sessions on printed electronics include papers highlighting advanced materials, emerging technologies and manufacturing processes — from ink to flexible substrates to roll-to-roll manufacturing.
For more information on the printed electronics activities at IPC APEX EXPO, visit www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/printed-electronics. Registration for the IPC APEX EXPO exhibit hall or to participate in the standards development meetings is free to pre-registrants ($25 and $40 on-site, respectively). Register at www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/register.
For more information visit www.ipcapexexpo.org/printed-electronics
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