What Are Printed Electronics?
Almax-RP manufactures custom printed electronics by screen printing conductive inks onto flexible substrates. Printed electronics are vibration resistant, abrasion resistant, low-profile, durable. Flexible screen printed circuitry provides a robust and cost effective solution for various medical and industrial applications. Almax-RP screen prints conductive inks such as silver ink, silver chloride ink, and carbon ink. We print these inks onto flexible substrates such PET, fabric, and polyimide. We can design and manufacture a custom printed circuit that fits your custom application. Whether you need medical sensors, membrane switches, screen printed electrodes, or flat flexible antennas we are ready to assist you.
What Are Some Applications of Custom Printed Electronics?
Ag/AgCl electrode for EKG sensor
Screen printed electrodes are the flexible, cost effective, bio-monitoring solution of the future. At Almax-RP we can screen print custom electrodes on flexible substrates to monitor whatever bio-parameters you need to track. Many of our customers are looking for custom Ag/AgCl electrodes. We stock silver/silver chloride ink, conductive carbon ink, and other specialty electrode inks. Our team can customize our electrode inks to have the exact electrochemical properties required for your sensor project. EKG, EEG, and drug concentration analysis are all applications of screen printed electrodes. Please call us or fill out our contact form to get started on your custom screen printed electrode project.
We manufacture E-textiles by applying screen printed circuitry onto a fabric substrate. This new technology is leading to exciting breakthroughs in the medical industry. We can design and prototype wearable circuits on a fabric substrate for your medical device project. Almax-RP has developed processes to apply surface mount components such as LEDs to fabric substrates. Please contact us if you need E-textile design or manufacturing services. You can read more about E-textiles on our blog.
What are Flexible Printed Circuits (FPCs), and how do FPCs differ from Printed Electronics?
Flexible printed circuits (FPCs) are chemically etched copper circuits just like a traditional PCB. The main difference between an FPC and a PCB is the circuit substrate. FPCs use thin, flexible polyimide as their substrate in comparison to the thicker, rigid FR4 substrates used in PCBs. Printed electronics are manufactured using an additive process (printing), vs the subtractive etching process used to make FPCs and PCBs. FPCs have the advantage of being able to accommodate more complex designs than screen printed electronics. FPCs can be designed with more layers and smaller components than screen printed circuitry. However, FPCs are not always the best choice.
Screen printed electronics are much lower in cost than FPCs because the additive manufacturing process used for printed electronics is much less wasteful than the subtractive etching process used to manufacture FPCs. Also, screen printed electronics can incorporate Ag/AgCl and other specialty conductors that traditional FPCs cannot offer. In some cases, Almax-RP will print conductive inks directly onto an FPC for specialty applications. The example above shows an FPC with conductive carbon printed on the contacts. Please contact us if you need an FPC with screen printed electrodes.
Why should you get your printed electronics from Almax-RP?
Almax-RP Corp. is uniquely positioned to offer fast USA based engineering and prototyping services, while also being able to offer the best offshore mass production pricing. We design and prototype printed electronics at our Tucson, Arizona facility. We also offer cost effective mass production of screen printed electronics through Almax Manufacturing Company’s Dongguan, China facility. Almax-RP is America’s best source for flexible printed electronics. We pride ourselves on our customer satisfaction. Please use our contact page to request a free design for manufacturing (DFM) review or a quote.