Three-dimensional printing of plastics

This process uses a moving laser beam, directed by a computer, to prepare the model. The model is made up of layers having thicknesses about 0.005-0.020 in. (0.012-0.50 mm) that are polymerized into a solid product. Advanced techniques also provides fast manufacturing of precision molds (152). An example is the MIT three-dimensional printing (3DP) in which a 3-D metal mold (die, etc.) is created layer by layer using powdered metal (300- or 400-series stainless steel, tool steel, bronze, nickel alloys, titanium, etc.). Each layer is inkjet-printed with a plastic binder. The print head generates and deposits micron-sized droplets of a proprietary water-based plastic that binds the powder together. 

The manufacture of a three-dimensional circuit device from a molded plastic such as the demonstration part shown in Figure 1 differs from the traditional printed circuit board. Different imaging techniques are required due to the three-dimensional features of the devices. In addition, the metal comprising the traces on the surface of the substrate are now deposited rather than formed from the laminated copper foil. 

A three-dimensional printing process that produces copies of solid or surface models in plastic. This process uses a moving laser beam, directed by computer, to print or draw across sections of the model onto the surface of photo-curable liquid plastic. 

The earliest models of molecules were constructed of wire, wood, or plastic. The most famous of these, the Corey-Pauling-Koltun (CPK) models, were commercially available in plastic and consisted of a large variety of atom types representative of average atoms with, say, sp, sp, and sp hybridization. The models were helpful because they enabled one to see the three-dimensional relations between atoms more accurately than could be portrayed on the printed page. The extent of the utility of the models was just that they helped to convey molecular architecture. With the advent of high speed graphical computing, physical models have been replaced with computerized pictures that enable one to visualize and move molecules in many different ways. 

Three-dimensional (3D) corona treatment, as the name indicates, is aimed at surface modification of objects with a third dimension, compared to a web (2D). Plastic objects are treated by 3D corona discharge to promote adhesion for printing, painting, coating bonding, and labeling [22—24]. 

Primer technology offers a raft of options for structuring three-dimensional interconnect devices. One possibility is to shape silk-screen printed films and then stabilize them by film insert molding (Section 3.1.3.1). Another option is to use tampon printing to transfer a circuit layout directly to a three-dimensional plastic body. 

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