How Additive Manufacturing Impacts the Electronics Industry

The growth in functionalities and capabilities of 3D printers provide an alternative in-house method for designing, developing, and manufacturing high-performance electronic devices and PCBs. Companies like electronic connector company Samtec are increasingly finding that additive-manufactured electronics can be a great fit for application areas like electronic interconnects and high-speed board-to-board development, as well as high-speed cabling, RF, rugged structures, and flexible stacking.

The advantages that electronics manufacturers and their customers can leverage from this tech, compared to traditional processes, include faster, more cost-effective design and development of high-quality prototypes in just a few days. And even more design iterations help accelerate go-to-market times, improve process integration, and optimize manufacturing processes

Samtec already integrates AME technology to address high-mix, high-customization, low-volume prototyping applications today, but can also see the potential for fully 3D-printed end-use parts in the future. 

In this podcast, we talk to Samtec’s Director of Additive Manufacturing, Zach Larimore, who is driving the deployment of AME within the company. Witnessing the benefits that are already achievable with technology today, as well as future application possibilities, Zach is a real advocate for AME and the potential it offers electronics designers and manufacturers.