The Mechanical Performance of 3D Printed Circuit Board

Abstract

3D printed circuit boards can improve the maintenance efficiency of electronic equipment. Nano-silver conductive tracks were printed on a commercial electronics grade fibre glass (E-glass) reinforced substrate material using a self-designed paste extrusion 3D printer, and the mechanical behaviors of sintered nano-silver paste were studied. The dog-bone-shaped specimens printed by 3D printer, were sintered at different temperatures, and then the sintered specimens were removed from the substrate, measuring their tensile behaviors, i.e. stress-strain curves. The square specimens were printed and the pull-off and shear adhesion tests were objected to quantify adhesive strength. For nano-silver paste materials, with the increase of curing temperature, the Young's modulus increases and the porosity decreases, while the bond strength between the cured silver and the substrate decreases.