Printed Electronics

I recently returned from the SGIA 2009 Membrane Switch and Printed Electronics Symposium, held May 5 thru 7 in Overland Park, Kansas. This symposium brings together the some of the most proficient technical and engineering minds. The daily challenge in many of their shops is not matching color or printing rosettes (although they do that too). Instead, they are printing functional inks to achieve necessary conductivity and resistivity in the printed electronic products they produce, working with indium tin oxide (ITO) for touch panels, organic light emitting diodes (OLED), and removing the metallization from polyester (PET) to create circuits using laser technologies. They print for function, not for looks.

When he welcomed the attendees to the symposium, Chairperson Chris Walker summarized the role of the SGIA Membrane Switch and Printed Electronics Council as a group who strives to provide the latest technical information, educational opportunities and product innovations during the annual Membrane Switch and Printed Electronics Symposium. This group teleconferences almost weekly throughout the year as the educational sessions take shape to ensure a balanced, educational program. The symposium is the major avenue whereby industry leaders, thinkers and doers present a variety of topics directly or indirectly related to the industry. In a highly specialized and technical market, the annual Symposium provides a venue for networking as well as the opportunity to meet with suppliers and producers to discuss issues related to products, processing, manufacturing, marketing and new technologies.

However, the major difference in the programming this year included the broader range of Printed Electronics (PE). Historically, this has been more focused on membrane switch production; however, printed electronics has gained interest from this industry. I think David Sime of Soligie Inc. stated it best within the synopsis of his presentation entitled High-Volume Printed Electronics in Practice: The art of membrane switch manufacturing has provided a foundation for the emerging industry of printed electronics. In fact, membrane switch manufacturing technologies led to many of the techniques used today in printed electronics. You might find it interesting that printed electronics is one of the fastest growing technologies in the World. It is gaining interest from industries like chemicals, consumer goods, healthcare, military, electronics and publishing. It is allowing electronics to be used in places like never before. Plus, the number of companies involved is doubling about every 18 months or so, all hoping for a share of the estimated $300 billion potential market that includes applications like RFID, flexible displays, bio-sensors, and photovoltaics.

Many traditional membrane switch producers have branched out into these markets to capture additional revenue streams and many of the products associated with these new markets are produced with similar tools, equipment, methods and materials they use. A resonant assertion from the attendees I spoke with during the symposium was that they saw the connection between what they currently produce and what they could produce based on the information conveyed in the presentations that were presented.

Each member of the SGIA Membrane Switch and Printed Electronics Council deserves a hearty Thank You for their many efforts in developing this year’s highly advanced program. Without their time and dedicated support, the symposium would not be possible. A big thank you to Preco Inc and NazDar who sponsored tours of their facilities during the symposium. The Bar-B-Que was great! While on the subject of thanks, Dutch Drehle, SGIA Technical Services Associate, has been staff liaison with the Council for the past few years and is planning to retire in July. Dutch has served in the industry for fifty years and will be missed by all the many colleagues he has befriended. Dutch, thank you for all your many efforts and enjoy your retirement in Arizona.

Speaking of Arizona, work has already begun on the 2010 Symposium being held in Phoenix. We would be interested in your programming thoughts and suggestions so contact me a jshell@sgia.org. As we continue to develop and refine the symposium, our ultimate goal is to inexpensively provide an event with unparalleled technical information and networking opportunities.

Submitted by Johnny Shell, SGIA