Shape-Conformal, High-Resolution Aerosol Jet Printing of Electronics (SHAPE)

Digital printing methods build precise complex shaped parts following instructions from a computer. These methods can build devices such as sensors, circuits and antennae by printing inks containing electronic materials. Most digital printing methods are tailored for planar surfaces and thus require relatively simple commands from a computer to generate the desired pattern.

Conformal printing onto three-dimensional (3D) curved surfaces enables the integration of devices on complex structures but requires advanced calculations to generate instructions for precision printing. This award supports fundamental research to establish a knowledge base for conformal digital printing, including efficient and robust computational strategies to create patterns on nonplanar (curved) surfaces.

The printing method enables electronic devices to be directly printed onto large, curved surfaces, such as aircraft wings and wind turbine blades, using a robotic printing system that deposits aerosol containing micro-scale droplets of ink. Conformal aerosol jet printing research impacts energy, healthcare, infrastructure, aerospace and automotive industries, thus advancing national prosperity and security.

In addition, this research pursues fundamental advances in several disciplines, including manufacturing, materials science, fluid dynamics, optimization, control, and computational science, thus promoting the progress of science. Coupling the multi-disciplinary research with curriculum development, K-12 outreach activities, and open-source dissemination of computational tools promotes workforce development, engineering education, and diversity and inclusion in engineering.

The objective of this project is to establish foundational process science and process-aware toolpath planning tools to support versatile electronics fabrication on curved surfaces. Conformal aerosol jet printing (AJP) with an articulated robotic arm can overcome limitations of existing nonplanar printing methods by providing high tolerance, high resolution, modular configuration and broad material versatility.

To overcome fundamental barriers and realize the full potential of this technology, the research team plans to develop a process science framework to guide ink and process design, establish physics-based models of print resolution and quality based on process parameters, and integrate these models with curvilinear surface representation and toolpath planning algorithms. Leveraging the design freedom provided by aerosol jet deposition enables a versatile approach to process-aware co-optimization of the printing process.

The dynamic balancing of digital and physical constraints required to realize this framework is enabled by an interdisciplinary team with expertise in aerosol jet printing, ink formulation, process monitoring and control, and computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) for complex geometries. As a guiding demonstration, the team plans to leverage knowledge gained to design materials and optimize processing parameters and toolpaths for manufacturing strain sensors directly on curved composite parts.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.