Pushing the Boundaries of 3D-MID: Pulse-Width Modulated Light Technology for Enhancing Surface Properties and Enabling Printed Electronics on FFF-Printed Structures

In this paper, the feasibility and the opportunities of combining both structural and functional printing technologies are shown. As printing technologies, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) for generating the structure and the Aerosol-Jet Printing (AJP) system for functionalization was used. The combined application is enabled by using a pulse-width modulated light technology which carries out two tasks. Firstly, the surface of printed structures can be improved by light exposure up to 94% in regard to the surface roughness. Secondly, the technology is used for light sintering realizing conductive tracks on heat sensitive materials such as polylactic acid (PLA).