Technology company says technology could be used for printing circuitry using conductive particles.
Techno Buffalo reported that Apple has filed a patent describing an inkjet printer that is able to print directly onto 3D surfaces using conductive particles, with the patent stating that “the conductive ink may be used to form circuits or perform related functions”.
According to Apple, the newly patented technology aims to solve the issue of ink falling vertically due to gravity and the “relatively low pressure” at which it is ejected, which makes it impossible to print on “vertical or undercut services of three-dimensional objects”; for example when printing electromagnetic interference shields which the company explains “must be substantially continuous un order to be effective” and so “when the conductive ink is not evenly dispersed across the surfaces, a continuous structure may not be formed”.