Fabricating Paper Circuits with Subtractive Processing

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel subtractive processing method for fabricating flexible paper circuits with large conductive zones, supported by PaperCAD software, enabling more complex designs and expanding application possibilities.

Contribution

It introduces a subtractive fabrication technique for paper circuits and a design tool, PaperCAD, to enhance design flexibility and complexity.

Findings

Successfully fabricated two paper circuit boards.

Enables more complex and flexible circuit designs.

Potential to expand applications of paper circuits.

Abstract

This paper introduces a new method of paper circuit fabrication that overcomes design barriers and increases flexibility in circuit design. Conventional circuit boards rely on thin traces, which limits the complexity and accuracy when applied to paper circuits. To address this issue, we propose a method that uses large conductive zones in paper circuits and performs subtractive processing during their fabrication. This approach eliminates design barriers and allows for more flexibility in circuit design. We introduce PaperCAD, a software tool that simplifies the design process by converting traditional circuit design to paper circuit design. We demonstrate our technique by creating two paper circuit boards. Our approach has the potential to promote the development of new applications for paper circuits.