14 DAY TRIAL // While most people think of 3D printers as just those fiddly things that can sometime churn out plastic vases you're not embarrassed to show friends, the label 3D printing applies to any additive manufacturing process.
Case in point is the new EX¹ 3D printer for circuit boards. The device aims to make it not only possible, but cheap for anyone to create custom circuit boards for any project they have in mind. The tool could come in handy to anyone, from electrical engineering students to Arduino fans.
"The EX¹ printer is not designed to create any 3D object like normal 3D printers. It’s been crafted and designed for one key purpose, to allow you to 3D print circuit boards, layering silver nano particles onto paper or any suitable surface to rapidly create a circuit board," Cartesian Co., the company behind the printer explained on its Kickstarter page.
The company boasts that this is the first time this particular printing process has been available at anywhere close to a reasonable price. The EX¹ is offered for as little as $899 (€671) (was available in fact, as that limited edition has sold out), though the full retail price will be $1,999 (€1,492). The printer is now available on Kickstarter, but it will only be shipping in July next year.
What's interesting about the printer is that it works with everything, i.e. it can print to just about any material, not just what you'd consider a regular circuit board. This means plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, even paper.
"The process is as easy as clicking File > Print. This lets you create electronics, just as you've envisioned - wearable electronics, paper circuits, printed computers or whatever you imagine. A 3D printer creates the objects of your imagination; the EX¹ lets you create the electronics of your imagination," the company added.
