Electronics printed with a t-shirt printer

[Keystone Nyan Cat]

Source:

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/others/sci-tech/Printing-electronics-with-a-t-shirt-printer/articleshow/45195396.cms

 

The News:

A university in Singapore has successfully printed electronic circuits using a t-shirt printer. The parts are printed using non-toxic matter like silver nanoparticles, carbon, and plastics on top of plastic, aluminium foils, and even papers. This means we can have smarter products such as cartons telling us when the milk expires, and even smart patches that can monitor your heart beat.

 

"We are not competing with highend processors like those found in smartphones and electronic devices. Instead we complement them with cheaply printed circuits that cost mere cents instead of a few dollars, making disposable electronics a reality." The team has successfully printed a 4-bit digital-to-analog converter - a component used to convert digital signals into sound for speakers and headphones; and radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags, commonly used for tracking of goods. 

The key difference between this method and the other printed electronics is that it is fully additive, which makes it very eco-friendly. The circuits are printed entirely without the use of any toxic chemicals.

 

My opinion:

This is great news! My only concern will be battery life, but other than that- cheap to produce and easy to dispose circuitry? The future is now.

[Guest]

please remove format from "we are not" part

other than that battery will still be needed like separate part if I am right.

[Keystone Nyan Cat]

please remove format from "we are not" part

other than that battery will still be needed like separate part if I am right.

Done! Yup, that's my only concern- where are they going to stick a battery on a milk carton

[Guest]

Done! Yup, that's my only concern- where are they going to stick a battery on a milk carton

Maybe those button type (don't know how to say on english). There are some pretty slim ones and could be put in between of some layers of product packaging.

[Guest]

You could probably power simpler circuits with solar batteries or piezoelectric elements.