New Manufacturing with Additive Manufacturing

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Elephantech Inc. is a start-up that manufactures and sells single-sided flex PCB that are manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner by utilizing inkjet printing and copper plating under the mission of ”Making the world sustainable with new manufacturing technologies“.

We will promote digital manufacturing with the aim of expanding additive manufacturing through inkjet printing, which is characterized by its digital nature and high degree of freedom in modeling.

Advantages of using AM in the manufacturing of the Single-Sided Flexible Substrate P-Flex®

Low environmental impact
Elephantech’s PCB manufacturing method (Pure Additive™ method) involves using inkjet printing to print metal only where it is needed, thus reducing the environmental impact in terms of energy use, water use and waste compared to existing methods.
This contributes to 6.3 and 6.4 of Goal 6 and 12.2 and 12.5 of Goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It is highly compatible with digital manufacturing
Inkjet manufacturing requires no molding, making it suitable for customization and high-mix low-volume productions as it can be done by simply sending data.This characteristic is highly compatible with the manufacturing methods known as digital manufacturing, such as “Industry 4.0” from Germany and “Connected Industries” from Japan.
The copper wiring of Elephantech’s single-sided flexible PCB P-Flex® is completely mold-less and is patterned by inkjet printing metal nano-ink, allowing for instant changes to the patterns on the production line by simply modifying the data sent to the printer.

High flexibility of the manufacturing process
We can make complex shapes that cannot be made by grinding, and this is what makes it so attractive.
For instance, contactless printing is preferable when drawing silver wiring over small bumps. Of all the contactless printing methods, AM by inkjet printing is the most productive and allows patterning. AM is especially valuable for its ability to apply any material at any step of the production process and ensures manufacturing process flexibility.

Additive Manufacturing Center

By leading the world with AM, we aim to make AM a major manufacturing method in Electronics, Healthcare, Textile and Optics.

＊AM(Additive Manufacturing) uses inkjet and other printing technologies to selectively stack materials onto desired areas.

AMC

IMPC™ (In-Mold Printed Circuit)

IMPC ™(In-Mold Printed Circuits) is a design and manufacturing solution that provides an integrated, optimized design for the entire component instead of the traditional manufacturing method where plastics and electronic circuits are designed and manufactured separately.

By integrating the resin and the circuit, a wider range of optimized designs can be achieved, resulting in various advantages such as weight reduction, thinness, and cost reduction.

IMPC™ Solution

Features of the Flexible Substrate P-Flex®

P-Flex® is a single-sided flex PCB manufactured using the Pure Additive™ method.

The novel approach to electronic circuit production that Elephantech has developed -- called Pure Additive™ processing -- is based on a totally opposite concept to the conventional method. In this innovative manufacturing method, metallic nano particles are printed only onto the required areas of the board surface, and then electroless plating technology is applied to grow the metal, providing the benefits shown on the right.

Features of the Flexible Substrate P-Flex®

About Elephantech