io300 printer range with Continuous Laser Assisted Deposition (C.L.A.D) technology unveiled
London, October 28th, 2021 – ioTech Group Ltd (“ioTech”) will premiere full industrial scale digital production with the commercial launch of its io300 Continuous Laser Assisted Deposition (C.L.A.D) printer range at productronica 2021, the international trade fair for electronics development and production.
In Messe Munich, Hall B2, Stand 217, from November 16 to 19, the fast-growing British-Israeli venture will demonstrate how the world’s first digital printer with C.L.A.D technology can process most industrial materials at high resolution and industrial productivity. ioTech is nominated for the productronica innovation award 2021.
For the first time, manufacturers can use their standard certified industrial materials, control the deposition of each single drop, and reach unmatched production yields.
The technology’s speed and resolution enable the delivery of commercial solutions across multiple industries. It holds great potential for digital mass-manufacturing applications such as semiconductor packaging and advanced printed circuit board production and assembly.
Ultra-fast, highly accurate, high-resolution printing of up to five different materials at the same time, including polymers, metals, ceramics, and solder, is made possible by the printer’s unique nozzle-free, non-contact laser jet printing and deposition capabilities.
ioTech’s C.L.A.D. system offers multiple advantages compared to existing material deposition technologies:
- As there are no nozzles to clog, it can handle materials with much higher viscosities than nozzle-based systems such as inkjet. Higher viscosity materials enable deposition of thicker layers, reducing deposition time, and higher viscosity conductive inks support higher aspect ratios, reducing electrical resistance without taking up extra space on the substrate.
- Material agnostic means material supply flexibility and allows for the use of current materials that have already met stringent OEM qualification requirements. Ceramics or metal pastes can be deposited along with polymers, adhesives, and solder.
- The non-contact method allows compatibility with any substrate material (including non-planar surfaces) unlike laser direct structuring (LDS). No additives are required.
- Unlike screen printing, which also supports the rapid deposition of high viscosity materials, C.L.A.D. is a digital method. This enables ‘mass customization’ as well as rapid prototyping (since a new mask is not needed for each iteration). It allows for designs with multiple materials and multiple layers.
- Current additive deposition methods in the PCB manufacturing space are slow and generally limited to prototyping with the final products made using traditional subtractive, or semi-additive, methods. The C.L.A.D. system is fast enough for high-mix low-volume manufacturing of high-end PCBs and can be used for both prototyping and production, adding process reliability and reducing development steps.
ASM Pacific Technologies and Henkel both recognized the significant potential of C.L.A.D. and joined ioTech’s journey through strategic investments in the company.
Hervé Javice, ioTech’s co-founder and CEO comments: “productronica is the perfect platform to demonstrate the unprecedented ability of the io300 printer range to deposit most flowable industrial materials. It allows operations to increase production efficiencies while embracing a more agile manufacturing approach. They can deliver fully functional products, fast and in an eco-friendly manner. They enable the production of “until-now-impossible-to-manufacture” designs. Our technology is set to change many manufacturing processes from SMT and packaging to PCB manufacturing. There are so many possibilities we are excited to share.”
At SEMICON® EUROPA, ioTech is presenting on new advanced packaging technologies (Executive Forum, Hall B2 on 18th November at 17:30).
Media interviews @productronica: To book a one-to-one interview with the ioTech team, please contact ingrid@pr4u.be.
About ioTech Group Ltd
Founded in 2016, ioTech is headquartered in London, UK with its R&D activities in Israel. ioTech is a fast-growing venture that has developed the world’s first Continuous Laser Assisted Deposition (C.L.A.D.) technology that can process most standard industrial materials. ioTech’s system can print and combine multiple (flowable) materials at high resolution and at high speed, offering the flexibility of dispensing at the speed of screen printing. With over 30 patents, many of them granted, ioTech is a pioneer in Additive Manufacturing innovation. Its deep technology know-how is set to become a key contributor to multiple industries such as electronics, automotive, aerospace, telecom, and medical equipment.
For more information on ioTech’s unique future shaping C.L.A.D. technology, please visit ioTech or click on the video here.
| For more information, please contact: ioTech Hervé Javice Email: pr@i-o-tech.com | pr4u Ingrid Van Loocke Phone: +32 478 51 44 15 Email: ingrid@pr4u.be |
About Continuous Laser Assisted Deposition (C.L.A.D)
Continuous Laser Assisted Deposition technology makes full scale digital mass-manufacturing a reality without compromise
ioTech’s system has been engineered to be simple and robust, with minimum maintenance. Manufacturing using C.L.A.D.’s breakthrough technology consists of three main steps:
- Material micro-coating onto a foil
- Pulse-laser jetting onto the substrate
- Multi-function inline post-processing.
Coating and jetting include micron precision and continuous closed loop monitoring. The integrated in-line post-processing includes UV and thermal curing as well as laser sintering and ablation, enabling fast production of end-use parts in very high quality, in one production step.
Contact-Free, Mask-Free, Nozzle-Free, Clog-Free
The combination of unique nozzle-free, contact-free and laser jetting deposition capabilities enables ultra-fast, highly accurate deposition of up to five materials, at the same time. Currently unprintable flowable industrial materials can now be deposited with ease. ioTech’s open C.L.A.D system allows the deposition of a very wide range of polymers, silicones, ceramic pastes, metal pastes, solders, and adhesives.
With ioTech’s cutting edge additive manufacturing solution, most industrial materials can be digitally jetted at resolutions ranging from as fine as 20µm, all the way to 500µm. The dynamic resolution feature enables both high speed and high resolution, whenever required.
Being an additive manufacturing technology, it is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional manufacturing methods. The C.L.A.D. system’s initial release is optimized for electronics applications such as semiconductor packaging, as well as PCB manufacturing and assembly.
ioTech’s breakthrough technologies are protected by an extensive IP portfolio.