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Exploring PCB Prototyping with 3D Printing techniques
3D printing has revolutionized rapid prototyping of small parts for inventors, but there’s a serious lack of options to improve prototyping of actual electronics. Here’s a prototype technique compatible with current 3D printers that could be used to print PCBs. I’m sharing what I learned so that other inventors can take the idea and improve on it.
Background on Printed Circuit Boards
Inventors can use a protoboards in their devices, a simple board with slots/clips to try out different configurations, but it’s very easy to pull components out so they are not ideal for use in later stages of development. An inventor later may opt to hand solder a bread board, which boast a series of copper lined holes that can accept parts. These boards work great for a prototype, but make replicating the part difficult once the device has reached a more usable state. The best option for replicating a part is a Printed Circuit Board (PCB).
A PCB is what you probably picture when thinking of electronics in a device. There are specific tracks of copper wire and places for parts and printed labels to make repeated assembly easier. By automatically routing these traces, the resulting device can be much smaller and more efficient than a hand-soldered board. There are services online, given a design for a board, where you can…
