Forming three-dimensional (3d) printed electronics

Abstract

In an example of a method for forming three-dimensional (3D) printed electronics, a build material is applied. A fusing agent is selectively applied on at least a portion of the build material. The build material is exposed to radiation and the portion of the build material in contact with the fusing agent fuses to form a layer. An electronic agent is selectively applied on at least a portion of the layer, which imparts an electronic property to the at least the portion of the layer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for forming three-dimensional (3D) printed electronics, the method comprising:
 applying a polymeric powder build material;   selectively applying, via a thermal inkjet printhead or a piezoelectric inkjet printhead, an aqueous formulation including an electronic agent on at least a portion of the build material, thereby forming a build material portion with an electronic property;   selectively applying, via a thermal inkjet printhead or a piezoelectric inkjet printhead, a fusing agent i) on an other portion of the build material around the build material portion or ii) on the build material portion, wherein the fusing agent comprises a water-based dispersion including an infrared light absorbing colorant; and   exposing the build material to radiation, thereby fusing the other portion or the build material portion in contact with the fusing agent.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising annealing the build material portion prior to selectively applying the fusing agent. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selectively applying of the electronic agent includes:
 selectively applying a first electronic agent, thereby imparting a first electronic property to the build material portion; and   selectively applying a second electronic agent on the first electronic agent, thereby imparting a second electronic property to the build material portion;   wherein the first and second electronic properties are different.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one of:
 the other portion of the build material includes all of the build material that surrounds the build material portion; or   the other portion of the build material includes less than all of the build material that surrounds the build material portion.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic agent includes a conductive material, a material whose electronic property is enhanced or activated when exposed to a treatment, a semiconductive material, or an insulating material. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic agent and the fusing agent are simultaneously selectively applied on the at least portion of the build material. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fusing agent is applied on the at least the portion of the build material, and wherein the method further comprises defining an electronic feature by one of:
 after fusing, removing unfused build material; or   before fusing, selectively applying the fusing agent on at least some of the build material around the build material portion.   
     
     
         8 . A three-dimensional (3D) printing system, comprising:
 a supply of build material;   a build material distributor;   a supply of an electronic agent including a conductive material, a material whose electronic property is enhanced or activated when exposed to a treatment, a semiconductive material, or an insulating material;   an applicator for selectively dispensing the electronic agent;   a supply of a fusing agent;   an inkjet applicator for selectively dispensing the fusing agent;   a controller; and   a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions to cause the controller to: 
 utilize the build material distributor to dispense the build material on a fabrication bed; and 
 utilize the applicator and the inkjet applicator to respectively and selectively dispense the electronic agent and the fusing agent to form a three-dimensional part having an electronic property. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising computer executable instructions to cause the controller to utilize annealing equipment to anneal a portion of the build material prior to selectively applying the fusing agent. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein:
 prior to the selectively dispensing the electronic agent, the system further comprising selectively dispensing, via another applicator, a first electronic agent on an area of the three-dimensional part on the fabrication bed, thereby imparting a first electronic property to the area, wherein the first electronic agent is a conductive material;   the electronic agent is the insulating material and the electronic agent is selectively dispensed on the first electronic agent, thereby imparting a second electronic property to the area; and   the first electronic property is conductivity and the second electronic property is the electrically insulating property.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising computer executable instructions to cause the controller to at least partially embed the three-dimensional part by:
 dispensing additional build material on the three-dimensional part;   dispensing the fusing agent on at least a portion of the additional build material; and   exposing the additional build material to radiation, thereby fusing the at least the portion of the additional build material.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the selectively dispensing of the fusing agent is accomplished by applying the fusing agent on the at least the portion of the additional build material that does not cover the at least the portion of the 3D object layer having the electronic property. 
 the unfused polymeric powder build material is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic material.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein:
 prior to the selectively dispensing the electronic agent, the system further comprising selectively dispensing a first electronic agent on a first area of the three-dimensional part on the fabrication bed, thereby imparting a first electronic property to the first area, wherein the first electronic agent is a conductive material;   the electronic agent is the insulating material and the electronic agent is selectively dispensed on a second area of the three-dimensional part on the fabrication bed, thereby imparting a second electronic property to the second area; and   the first electronic property is conductivity and second electronic property is the electrically insulating property.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the build material is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic material. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the build material is a polyamide material selected from the group consisting of polyamide 11, polyamide 12, polyamide 6, polyamide 8, polyamide 9, polyamide 66, polyamide 612, polyamide 812, and polyamide 912. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the conductive material includes a combination of carbon nanotudes, silver nanoparticles and a poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate polymer. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer readable medium media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for forming three-dimensional (3D) printed electronics, the method comprising:
 applying a polymeric powder build material onto a fabrication bed;   selectively applying, via a thermal inkjet printhead or a piezoelectric inkjet printhead, an aqueous formulation including an electronic agent on at least a portion of the build material, thereby forming a build material portion with an electronic property;   selectively applying, via a thermal inkjet printhead or a piezoelectric inkjet printhead, a fusing agent i) on an other portion of the build material around the build material portion or ii) on the build material portion, wherein the fusing agent comprises a water-based dispersion including an infrared light absorbing colorant; and   exposing the build material to radiation, thereby fusing the other portion or the build material portion in contact with the fusing agent.   
     
     
         18 . The media of  claim 17 , wherein the electronic agent and the fusing agent are simultaneously selectively applied on the at least portion of the build material to form the three-dimensional part. 
     
     
         19 . The media of  claim 17 , wherein the selectively applying of the electronic agent includes:
 selectively applying a first electronic agent, thereby imparting a first electronic property to the build material portion; and   selectively applying a second electronic agent on the first electronic agent, thereby imparting a second electronic property to the build material portion;   wherein the first and second electronic properties are different.   
     
     
         20 . The media of  claim 17 , wherein the electronic agent includes a conductive material, a material whose electronic property is enhanced or activated when exposed to a treatment, a semiconductive material, or an insulating material.