Reshoring electronics production thanks to 3D printing

A patch that measure the heart rate or blood sugar level of diabetics. Light panels fully integrated into the dashboard of the car. Foils that are fully covered with LEDs and can be applied as wallpaper. These are just a few of the applications that Eindhoven-based Tracxon (3D) prints. This printing technology – developed in the Netherlands – offers the opportunity to bring electronics production back to Western Europe, according to CTO Corné Rentrop. Fine-tuning the technology for this, is what the 3DOP project is valuable for.

Officially, Tracxon does screen printing. On 60 centimeters wide, flexible plastic rolls, the company prints small electronic circuits; thin metal lines on which LEDs and other components are placed in a second step. A technology that was developed by TNO Holst Centre and is now being commercially rolled out and further developed by Tracxon.

Printed electronics that can bend and stretch

Unique position

The startup has been around for three years, has been operational for two years and is already attracting customers from all over the world. “We print electronics that can bend and stretch,” summarizes Corné Rentrop, CTO at Tracxon. That makes the startup, one of the project partners in 3DOP, special. 3D printing of electronics is done in several places, but Tracxon is the only one that delivers a complete product to the customer. Corné Rentrop: “We are the only company that offers a complete solution, including the installation of the components.”

Multiple benefits

This technology offers several advantages. First of all, the flexible material on which printing is done: it can stretch, stretch, bend and thus opens up completely new shape possibilities for electronics. In addition, Tracxon prints on a roll, 60 centimeters wide with a speed of at least 5 meters per minute. “This is nice for larger series because it makes the process much cheaper in the end,” says Corné Rentrop. Perhaps the most important advantage is the sustainable nature of the process. There is no need for a high temperature step which saves energy, there is no etching so no chemicals are needed and the printing process requires hardly any water. “This is really more environmentally friendly than existing processes.” 

Totally new applications thanks to 3D printing on flexible substrates

Wide range of applications

Thanks to the flexible material on which the circuits are printed, the technique can be used for a range of applications in which stretching and bending are important properties. Think, for example, of medical applications: plasters in which a heart rate sensor is integrated. Or sensors for diabetics. The stretchy materials fit seamlessly to the human body. A second important area of application is lighting. This is an application that Tracxon is further investigating together with partners in the 3DOP project. Corné Rentrop says: “By printing wallpaper-like applications, fully covered with LEDs, we create large areas of light, for example.” Lighting company Signify is interested in this. A third application can be found in the automotive industry, where people want to fully integrate electronics into the dashboard. Everything in your car is organically shaped and that creates opportunities for printed electronics. The fourth group of applications that Rentrop mentions are IoT applications in internal logistics. “With IoT, large numbers are required. The unique selling point of our technology is that we can print large numbers relatively easily.”

We should be able to achieve the same performance as the classic printed circuit board, for the same price, but with the extra properties

Unfamiliarity with printed electronics

Tracxon’s factory in Eindhoven has been operational for two years now. This is where the applications for customers are completely produced. For the time being, that is the business model: contract manufacturing. Corné Rentrop says things are going pretty well. The company mainly fights against unfamiliarity in the market. “People have to get used to it. When you think of electronics, you think of a printed circuit board, but it is not yet known that it can be flexible. People then quickly think that this is less reliable.” According to Corné Rentrop, the latter is not so bad, although the maturity of printing technology is not yet at the same level as the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs). This is mainly due to the lack of standards. “We are constantly working on these standards and quality. Ultimately, we should be able to achieve the same performance as the classic printed circuit board, for the same price, but with the extra properties.”

3DOP provides access to large network

Tracxon has joined the 3DOP project to both raise awareness for the Dutch printing technology and find partners to develop new applications together. Such a European project offers a broad network, which always yields new contacts, is Corné Rentrop’s experience. For example, the Eindhoven-based company came into contact with Tecos in Slovenia through the 3DOP project. Tecos uses TNO Kirigami to create a 3D structure for lamps. Tracxon 3D prints the electronics on foil and the molds, after which Tecos finishes the lighting fixtures. It is one of the demonstrators in the European project. Corné Rentrop: “The broad set-up of 3DOP with multinationals, SMEs and research institutes offers a network that you don’t otherwise have. For us, this is the added value of the project. You always meet someone you don’t know yet and you can work together with closed purses.” He expects that the collaboration with Tecos, which came about in the 3DOP project, will eventually generate business.

Reshoring electronics production

“We are convinced that we can build an industry in Western Europe. Our technology is a solution to bring production back to Western Europe,” says the CTO of Tracxon. However, this still requires research into scaling up (3D) print production and the assembly of the electronics, as well as improving the yield and performance of the technology. “We cannot do this alone, but must be done in an ecosystem. That is the added value of such a project for our joint roadmap.”