Granular Conductive Material Fusion for Circuit Board Fabrication
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of multilayer circuit boards involves complex and hazardous chemical processes, leading to environmental concerns and high production costs, limiting the number of qualified manufacturers.
Innovation Solution
A CAD-driven additive process using a mold to fuse granular conductive material into conductive elements, followed by infusion of dielectric material for structural support, minimizing chemical usage and waste generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional chemical deposition and etching processes are used to manufacture circuit boards, then conductive elements can be formed on dielectric base material, but toxic chemicals are consumed and hazardous waste is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of material deposition from chemical processes to physical additive processes. Instead of using chemical deposition and etching, the invention uses a fusion process to selectively fuse granular conductive material into desired patterns, eliminating the need for toxic chemicals while maintaining manufacturing precision for conductive element formation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful chemical processes from the circuit board manufacturing workflow. By replacing chemical deposition and etching with an additive fusion process, the invention eliminates the source of toxic chemicals and hazardous waste generation while preserving the essential function of forming conductive elements
2Reliability
If complex chemical processes are used for plating and etching, then necessary electrical properties can be achieved, but production cost increases and manufacturer qualification becomes limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex chemical systems with a mechanical/thermal fusion system. The fusion process element uses controlled heating to fuse granular conductive material, substituting chemical deposition and etching processes with a mechanical-thermal approach that is easier to manufacture and implement, reducing production costs and expanding the pool of qualified manufacturers while maintaining reliable electrical properties
3Stability of the object's composition
If traditional multi-layer construction methods are used, then circuit board structure can be formed, but extended design timeframes are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-fusing conductive material layers in the desired final configuration before dielectric material is added. The fusion process element selectively fuses granular conductive material into precise patterns in advance, and subsequent layers are built upon this established structure, eliminating the need for time-consuming sequential chemical processing and reducing the overall design process timeframe while maintaining stable multi-layer composition
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables the fabrication of multilayer circuit boards using environmentally friendly processes, reducing chemical consumption and waste, while maintaining electrical properties and structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a metal fusion process element translatable across the mold is activated responsive to the CAD database for fusing selected portions of granular conductive material to form conductive elements
Implementation Method 2
A dielectric material is then infused into a structure formed by the fused first conductive elements and additional conductive layer elements
Data Source
AI summary
A method for fabrication of a circuit board using the disclosed embodiments relies on a CAD model of a multilayer circuit board with conductive elements defined by layer. A first granular conductive material layer is introduced into a mold. A fusion process element traverses across the mold to fuse selected portions of the first granular conductive material layer forming first layer conductive elements. An additional granular conductive material layer is introduced into the mold over the fused selected portions of the first layer and unfused portions of the first layer. The fusion process element is then traversed across the mold to fuse selected portions of the additional granular conductive material layer forming an additional layer of conductive elements. Unfused granular conductive material is then purged from the fused first conductive elements and additional conductive layer elements. A dielectric material is then infused into a structure formed by the fused first conductive elements and additional conductive layer elements.