Optomec announces aerosol jet marathon series for volume manufacturing in printed electronics

ALBUQUERQUE, USA: Optomec, a leader in high performance additive manufacturing systems, announced availability of the Aerosol Jet Marathon Series for high volume printed electronics manufacturing.

The Marathon Series represents the next generation of Aerosol Jet print module technology and sets a new performance standard for fine feature printed electronics and wide area coating applications. The 3 nozzle Marathon Series print module is available now with additional configurations, including a 10 nozzle and 3MM wide nozzle, scheduled for delivery next quarter. Marathon Series print modules can be configured on standalone Aerosol Jet systems or on Aerosol Jet Print Engines used for integration with 3rd party automation systems.

Marathon Series print modules feature a refillable atomizer cartridge that injects aerosolized material directly into the print head. This direct aerosol injection method eliminates tubing and shortens the material delivery path resulting in reliable, trouble free operation.

The temperature inside the Marathon Series atomizer cartridge and print head are independently controlled which is made possible through an integrated thermal insulation barrier. This level of integration and process control throughout the entire material delivery system is the key to reliable, extended operation in high volume printed electronics manufacturing.

Marathon Series print modules successfully completed extensive pilot testing at a number of customer sites. Applications tested included fine line printing of 3D interconnects, printing of dielectrics and deposition of wide area coatings.

The Marathon series complements current Aerosol Jet print module technology, now called the Sprint Series, which remains the deposition platform of choice for material research and rapid prototyping applications. Field upgrades from Sprint Series to Marathon Series print modules are also available.

Dr. Dave Bohling, Optomec VP of Engineering, states: “Our efforts to ruggedize and optimize Aerosol Jet technology for high volume printed electronics applications culminated with the release of the Marathon Series. The design approach successfully achieved these objectives by tightly coupling the input and output components in the material delivery system while also enhancing process control for each of these components. The results clearly demonstrate improved performance and reliability required to meet uptime and production quality expectations.”

Optomec is the world-leading provider of additive manufacturing solutions for high-performance applications in the electronics, solar, medical, and aerospace and defense markets. These systems utilize Optomec’s patented Aerosol Jet printed electronics technology and LENS powder-metal fabrication technology. The company has a global customer base of more than 100 users that includes many industry-leading manufacturers.