NURBS-based path planning for aerosol jet printing of conformal electronics

Abstract

Conformal printing offers a promising capability to integrate complex electronic functionality with intricate objects consisting of curved surfaces. However, motion planning to support these printing configurations presents a challenge, in part due to conventional reliance on tessellated surface representations that limit the accuracy and scalability of the printing process. In this paper, we introduce a direct approach to conformal aerosol jet printing on topographically complex surfaces, represented using non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS). Using the NURBS surface definition directly offers a scalable and continuous approach for toolpath generation, which is well-aligned with standard computer-aided design practices. We select a patch that directly corresponds to the area of interest on the NURBS surface and extract the associated surface points. These surface points are then appropriately connected to generate the machine code (G-code) for a 3-axis printing system. We demonstrate this capability by printing a strain gauge on a curved model of a wind turbine blade. Our approach offers a promising avenue for manufacturing printed electronics with diverse applications that require conformal printing. This approach is particularly valuable for incorporating printed circuits on intricate underlying structures, including structural health monitoring for aerospace and civil infrastructure applications.