On June 19, 2020, Nextflex, an American alliance organization dedicated to promoting 3D printing of flexible hybrid electronics (FHE), has signed a cooperation agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The US Department of Defense (DoD) will provide up to US$154 million (approximately RMB 1 billion) in funding over the next 7 years to fund the development of 3D printed electronic products that can support military operations and defense manufacturing.
Nextflex advances the mission of FHE flexible hybrid electronics
The Nextflex Alliance was established in August 2015 through the cooperation between the US Department of Defense and the FlexTech Alliance. The alliance includes companies, academic institutions, non-profit institutions, and state government agencies. The common goal is to promote the manufacture of flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) in the United States. Nextflex's research focuses on designing a new class of lightweight, low-cost, and stretchable FHE equipment for the medical, robotics, and communications markets. By adding electronic components to new materials and creating products that meet the requirements, the goal is to achieve the status of "electronics on everything" and apply FHE to all aspects of daily life.
There are many alliance organizations in the United States in the field of 3D printing, which jointly solve some practical technical problems and form internal cooperation and division of labor; then the government or the Department of Defense and other departments provide funds to these alliances, and some also provide orders to incubate and promote technology. development of. This form fully releases the subjective initiative of each member unit, conducts technical research efficiently and quickly, and at the same time paves the way for practical industrial applications!
The Nextflex Alliance received US$75 million in start-up funds from AFRL in 2015, and then redistributed this investment to its members, so that they are committed to promoting various projects of FHE technology. For example, in June 2017, Optomec, a 3D printing company headquartered in Albuquerque, received $3 million in project funding to provide Aerosol Jet 5x 3D printers for the NextFlex Technology Center in San Jose, California and NewFlex, New York.
Later, in July 2018, it provided support to military contractor Lockheed Martin, one of the seven companies that received Nextflex’s $12 million in cash. For Lockheed, the funding was obtained to compile a database of 3D printed antennas and microwave components, and to develop epidermal sensors for robotic exoskeleton knee control to help injured soldiers.
Since then, they have continued to increase their financial support for the FHE project. In August 2018, they provided an investment of 11 million US dollars to the research project, and in June 2019, they solicited project proposals. Following a further USD 11.5 million in funding for 12 new projects in May 2020, the total investment in advancing FHE 3D printing technology has exceeded USD 100 million. At present, AFRL has promised to add $154 million to Nextflex so that the organization can continue its efforts to achieve its goal of "everything is electronic".
Flexible hybrid electronic printing
Electronic capabilities can now be integrated into new consumer and industrial products, combined with rapidly developing data analysis and artificial intelligence to achieve real-time judgment. FHE and printed electronics have also realized the production of electronic products with higher output and lower cost.
"Hybrid" refers to having both printing and a design based on advanced CMOS components, enabling the device to process data and utilize the most cost-effective components. The figure below illustrates this concept. Some devices are printed on a flexible substrate and some are embedded.
Although FHE has made many advances, it will require new materials, processing, equipment and design to make today's product concept a reality. Interestingly, there are many technologies that span previously unrelated industry areas. For example, electronic printing inks bring together traditional paper printing technologies, chemical formulations in the coatings industry, and micro- and even nano-level lithography technologies for IC manufacturing.
Flexible, hybrid and printed electronic devices are now designed to enter the market, including consumer and industrial fields. These products include human health and performance monitoring systems, structural health monitoring (roads, bridges, buildings, etc.) soft robots and array antennas.