SurfCuit: Surface Mounted Circuits on 3D Prints

TL;DR

SurfCuit introduces a surface mounting method for creating durable electric circuits directly on 3D printed objects, simplifying circuit integration without complex casing or expensive equipment.

Contribution

It presents a novel surface mounting technique for circuits on 3D prints, utilizing FDM plastic's bonding with metal for robust circuit construction and an interactive design tool.

Findings

Successfully constructed complex circuits on 3D printed surfaces

Demonstrated durable circuits using copper tape and soldering

Provided an interactive tool for circuit design on arbitrary geometries

Abstract

We present, SurfCuit, a novel approach to design and construction of electric circuits on the surface of 3D prints. Our surface mounting technique allows durable construction of circuits on the surface of 3D prints. SurfCuit does not require tedious circuit casing design or expensive set-ups, thus we can expedite the process of circuit construction for 3D models. Our technique allows the user to construct complex circuits for consumer-level desktop fused decomposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers. The key idea behind our technique is that FDM plastic forms a strong bond with metal when it is melted. This observation enables construction of a robust circuit traces using copper tape and soldering. We also present an interactive tool to design such circuits on arbitrary 3D geometry. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through various actual construction examples.