UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, COVENTRY, UNITED KINGDOM. A material named carbomorph allows anyone to incorporate sensors and electronic tracks as part of a 3D printed structure. This will allow the printer in creating touch-sensitive areas that can be connected to simple electronic circuit boards.

The advancement in our technology has made it possible to print out intricate models of various devices like remote controls and even mobile phones. However, they are good for display purposes only since they are not really functional.

Dr. Simon Leigh from the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick is the head researcher for finding a way in printing out a functioning electronic device from a 3D printer. They are developing new materials that will allow people to print out custom-designed personal electronics like game controllers that perfectly fit their hand shape.

They developed Carbomorph a simple and affordabale conductive plastic composite that can be used to make electronic devices with the use of the newest low-cost 3D printers that were intended for the use of hobbyists. The team used this material to print objects with touch-sensitive buttons or flex sensors like computer game controllers or even a mug that can inform anyone on how full it is.

The team’s next goal is to print more intricate electronic components that will include cables and wires that are required to connect the devices to computers. The long-term benefit of this technology is that it can totally revolutionize the production of personal electronics. They can now be customized, personalized and absolutely unique especially when it comes to electronic waste reduction.

The short-term benefit of this technology is the great impact it has in the educational sector. It will allow young engineers to acquire hands-on experience when using advanced manufacturing technology that can fairly design high-tech devices inside their classrooms. Also, the printed sensors can be monitored with the use of existing open-source electronics and available free programming libraries. One of the major advantages of 3D printing is that the sockets used for the connection to the equipment such as interface electronics can be printed without the need to connect them with the use of conductive glues or paints.