Introduction Of The FED Working Group For 3D Electronics

Whether telecommunications, electromobility or Industry 4.0: The requirements for functionality and performance of electronic assemblies and devices are growing rapidly - while at the same time the installation space is becoming ever smaller. Modern 3D electronics make a decisive contribution to complex, highly integrated, efficient and space-saving solutions.

It is important to know your potential exactly and use it in a targeted manner. Against this background, the FED founded the 3D Electronics Working Group. Its mission is to collect and evaluate information and to organize the wide variety of technology variants in a systematic and practice-oriented manner. 
In this context, the working group also deals with the expanded requirements for CAD development systems, with data formats, with new materials and manufacturing processes and other topics.

New possibilities with 3D integration for electronics:

Form factor:

• Reduced installation space, volume and weight
• Reduced component footprints
• Free and multi-dimensional substrate shapes

Performance:

• Proven integration density
• Reduced connection lengths and therefore optimized EMC
• Proven connection structures and topologies for higher transmission rates
• Reduced energy consumption

Functional integration:

• Connections and optimized AVT
• Cooling
• Reliability
• Protection from environmental influences
• Plagiarism protection
• Combination

The focus of the new working group is the wide range of 3D electronics: In order to integrate components and connections in the third dimension, 
there are now a whole range of technologies and options that can fall under the term 3D electronics. Examples are:

• Embedding – embedding active and passive components in circuit boards and modules. There are a wide variety of structure variants and topologies. 
• MID (Moulded Interconnection Device) – combines housing and electronics. Various manufacturing variants make it possible to place components and conductor tracks on plastic. 
• 3D printing – a technology established in mechanics that is now also moving into electronics. There are both multi-material printers that 
  print plastic and silver in one device and devices that print multilayer circuit boards.
•  There are also other technologies for 3D integration, for example based on ceramics or photopolymer materials.
• Three-dimensional electronic concepts can also be realized from flexible and rigid-flex circuit boards, just as by plugging or 
  soldering individual rigid circuit boards together.

Due to the sometimes very different technologies and the large number of variants, it is a particular challenge for developers to select the best solution in terms of functionality, production technology and costs.

The working group therefore wants to show what possibilities the individual solutions offer and for which areas of application they are particularly suitable.

One of the working group's focuses is on 3D electronic printing. It offers completely new possibilities for manufacturing and product customization.

The challenges of the new 3D technologies are diverse:

• Material properties and processing
• 3D design and construction
• Production of substrate
• Component assembly
• Cost
• Environmental requirements
• Test

The FED 3D Electronics Working Group currently has eight members who come from different industrial sectors. 
The head of the working group is Hanno Platz, managing director of the company GED Gesellschaft für Elektronik und Design mbH. 

FED members and all J.A.M.E.S plattform users interested in 3D technology are warmly invited to support the working group with questions, topics 
and information or to actively participate. 

Innovation ! Stronger ! Together !

Our working group is looking for passioned persons who want to represent the techonology to the industry as evaluated association.