Greater integration of electronics within 3D structures is an ever-increasing trend, representing a more sophisticated solution compared to the current approach of encasing rigid printed circuit boards. In-mold electronics (IME) facilitates this trend, by enabling multiple integrated functionalities to be incorporated into components with thermoformed 3D surfaces. IME offers multiple advantages relative to conventional mechanical switches, including reduction in weight and material consumption of up to 70% and much simpler assembly.

 

 

The IME manufacturing process can be regarded as an extension of the well established in-mold decorating (IMD) process, in which thermoforming plastic with a decorative coating is converted to a 3D component via injection molding. Since IME is an evolution of an existing technique, much of the existing process knowledge and capital equipment can be reused.

 

IME differs from IMD though the initial screen printing of conductive thermoformable inks, followed by deposition of electrically conductive adhesives and the mounting of SMDs (surface mount devices, primarily LEDs at present) are similar. More complex multilayer circuits can also be produced by printing dielectric inks to enable crossovers. The figure below shows a schematic of the IME manufacturing process flow.

 

 

 

 

Despite the similarities to IMD, there are multiple technical challenges associated with the integration of electronic functionality that have to withstand thermoforming and injection molding. A very high manufacturing yield is crucial since the circuitry is embedded, and thus a single failure can render the entire part redundant. This comprehensively updated report covers the commercial and emerging solutions from the key players as IME progresses from R&D to gaining widespread adoption in multiple application sectors.

 

On the material side, conductive inks, dielectric inks, and electrically conductive adhesives need to survive the forming and molding steps that involve elevated temperatures, pressure, and elongation. Furthermore, all the materials in the stack will need to be compatible. As such, many suppliers have developed portfolios of functional inks designed for IME. Establishing an IME material portfolio before widespread adoption means that material suppliers are well positioned to benefit from forthcoming growth. This is because production processes and products are designed with their materials in mind, thus serving as a barrier to switching suppliers.

 

This report examines the current situation in terms of material performance, supply chain, process know-how, and application development progress. It also identifies the key bottlenecks and innovation opportunities, as well as emerging technologies associated with IME such as thermoformable particle-free inks.

 

 

 

IME is most applicable to use cases that requires a decorative touch-sensitive surface, such as control panels in automotive interiors and on kitchen appliances. It enables a 3D, smooth, wipeable, decorative surface with integrated capacitive touch, lighting and even haptic feedback and antennas.

 

Despite the wide range of applications and the advantageous reductions in size, weight and manufacturing complexity, commercial deployment of IME integrated SMD components has thus far been fairly limited. This relatively slow adoption, especially within the primary target market of automotive interiors, is attributed to both the challenges of meeting automotive qualification requirements and the range of less sophisticated alternatives such as applying functional films to thermoformed parts. Competing technologies to IME for electronically functionalizing 3D decorative surfaces are discussed in the report.

 

Furthermore, COVID-19 has delayed the widespread adoption of IME as the automotive sector faced factory shut-downs and a temporary sales decline. Despite this setback, the market is beginning to change character towards product production, with equipment suppliers developing specialist capabilities and development projects reaching their conclusion. IDTechEx expects the market to show accelerated growth from 2024/2025 onwards, starting from simpler small-area devices then progressing towards more complex larger-area and higher-volume applications with more stringent reliability requirements.

 

The long-term target for IME is to become an established platform technology, much the same as rigid PCBs are today. Once this is achieved getting a component/circuit produced will be a simple matter of sending an electronic design file, rather than the expensive process of consulting with IME specialists that is required at present. Along with greater acceptance of the technology, this will require clear design rules, materials that conform to established standards, and crucially the development of electronic design tools.

 

 

 

IDTechEx has been researching the emerging printed electronics market for well over a decade, launching our first printed and flexible sensor report back in 2012. Since then, we have stayed close to the technical and market developments, interviewing key players worldwide, attending numerous conferences, delivering multiple consulting projects, and running classes and workshops on the topic. This report discusses the manufacturing methodologies, material requirements, applications, and challenges associated with IME in considerable detail. The report includes 10-year market forecasts by application sector, expressed as both revenue and IME panel area.

 

Note that IME is not the only manufacturing methodology that enables 3D electronics. Other approaches involve fully additive electronics manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing of electronics), and applying electronics directly to 3D surfaces using techniques such as aerosol jet printing and laser direct structuring (LDS). These methods are briefly explored within this report, but more detailed discussion and analysis can be found in the IDTechEx Report 3D Electronics.

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