Exposing Photopolymer Laminated Copper Clad Boards With A Peachy

[Morten]

Might be a stupid question, but why not use conductive resin directly? If it can be made conductive, by infusing cnts or metal powder perhaps?

[Feign]

That would be because there's not currently a significantly conductive resin that's suitable for use as a photopolymer.

If you discover one, you'll make a fortune*.

*unless you actually talk about it, in which case Stratasys would probably patent it first.

[Feign]

Well, nevermind my last post! CreoPop is teasing a conductive photopolymer for use with their upcoming announcement of their eventual Indiegogo campaign for their some time in the future SLA-based 3D printing pen!

I don't care about 3D printing pens, but if their conductive photopolymer isn't BS, then this is a game changer! (also, magnetic photopolymers, however they expect that to work.)

[Morten]

Yeah, google returns several interesting links. Many claim to have electroconducting uv curable resin. They seem to work by using a conductive filler, i guess that we would need to use something with low weight. Like carbon nanotubes. Apparently dispersion is a problem (you would need some sort of ultrasonic device I guess). This would also be great for electroplating 3d printed objects.

[Feign]

They seem to work by using a conductive filler, i guess that we would need to use something with low weight.

So it's only technically conductive. Filaments with conductive fillers get about 20,000ohms resistance per cm of distance. If that's conductive, then I'm royalty*. What the search is for is an inherently conductive resin like polyphenylene vinylene, which has a resistance of .143ohms per cm. Unfortunately, PpV is a pain in the ass to catalyze. It creates water as a byproduct, which interrupts it from forming coherent solids, causing it to catalyze as a wet powder unless you bake it so hot that the water vaporizes as it forms.

*My great, great, great granddad was a Cherokee cheif, so technically...