New sustainable industrial printer

Japanese green tech innovator Elephantech announced the release of their new industrial inkjet printing platform, the ELP04.

A cutting-edge inkjet printer compatible with metal nano inks, the new platform uses cutting-edge technology to offer manufacturers a way of producing sustainable electronic components to the same standards as conventional products but with significant resource, cost, and time savings.

Elephantech printers utilize nanotechnology and ultra-high precision Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) to print metal ink directly on component substrates. Their newest industrial printer, the ELP04-PCB, is optimized for printed circuit board production and can be used to create circuits without the need for conventional processes such as photolithography and etching.

Elephantech will use the new printer in-house to produce their own printed circuit boards, SustainaCircuits™, as well as adapting it for a wide range of other uses, including semiconductor advanced packaging and flat panel display production. It will also be available for purchase by other manufacturers for the first time.

The new ELP04 print platform and ELP04-PCB printer

Inkjet technology is ideal for use in printed electronics but has long been underutilized due to being difficult to control to the required level of precision when working at high speeds.

However, convinced of the potential metal inkjet printing held for a more sustainable electronics industry, Elephantech have dedicated themselves to developing this technology to a level of precision and reliability that means it can be used in mass production of even the most intricate electronic components to standards on par with or superior to equivalent products made using conventional methods.

Specifically, the new ELP04-PCB can print a 500 by 830 mm workpiece in approximately 31 seconds, demonstrating excellent productivity that is eight times that of previous models. In terms of reliability, it demonstrates repeatable droplet impact position accuracy with less than one micron of deviation—an essential feature to ensure high production stability and end product reliability.

It is equipped with an array of mass production features that facilitate exceptional precision, speed, and productivity on the factory floor, including nozzle discharge status monitoring, automatic maintenance, high-precision print stage control, ink recirculation, and compatibility with Elephantech’s proprietary NeuralJet™ print processing control technology which uses AI to achieve unprecedented ink patterning quality.

ELP04-PCB

Elephantech’s contribution to sustainable electronics

Elephantech are committed to bringing sustainable change to the electronics industry by using innovative technology to reduce the environmental footprint of essential electronic components while offering manufacturers the added benefits of reduced production costs, a more compact factory setup, and time savings.

For example, Elephantech have used their printers to produce printed circuit boards that require 95% less water and 70% less copper to produce and carry only a quarter of the carbon footprint of equivalent products made using conventional methods.1 With printed circuit boards responsible for around half of a smartphone’s carbon footprint,2 their printing technology has the potential to make a significant impact on the industry.

Elephantech expects their new printer to propel their contribution even further by facilitating more sustainable production of a much wider variety of essential electronic components, including semiconductors and flat panel displays.

Applications of the ELP04 printing platform

Background and looking ahead

Elephantech started in 2014 and has developed technology, manufacturing systems, and processing equipment that enables the production of electronic components through essentially just printing. In doing so, they are paving the way for the electronics industry to use fewer materials and avoid creating hazardous byproducts.

They are already making a significant contribution through sustainable printed circuit boards manufactured in house that can cut the PCB manufacturing carbon footprint by 75% while offering electronics manufacturers around 15% cost savings.

Now, with the unprecedented speed and precision of the ELP04 industrial print platform in their arsenal, they’re set to make an even greater impact through sustainable printing solutions for a wider range of electronic components.

With increasing pressure on businesses to contribute to the SDGs and comply with intensifying environmental regulations, Elephantech’s printing technology could be a timely solution for forward-thinking manufacturers.

For further information or for inquiries about production services or printers go to https://elephantech.com/en/

More technical details about the ELP04 printing platform can be found here https://elephantech.com/en/elp04/