Convergence: Printing Circuits and 3D Printing - at Home

[Brad Jones]

Microsoft Research shows how they are bringing technologies together. In this case, printing circuits and 3D printing.

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[dclamp]

There are also cool pens with ink that conducts electricity allowing you to draw circuits on paper.

http://www.amazon.com/CircuitWriterT.../dp/B0002BBVQO

It was originally on KickStarter...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...uits-instantly

[OReubens]

There's even a company selling inkjet ink that allow you to print circuits on paper or even plastic sheets making them very suitable for projects that need to be lightweight, or where the PCB needs to be flexible.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ith-home-print

there are other companies selling PCB printing on flexible material but they typically use copper (like http://inkjetflex.com/site/) which is a lot slower to print, and more expensive (though to be fair, it does have better conductivity and other benefits).

[dclamp]

I remember seeing that circuit printer on Kickstarter not too long ago. Something like that would be really cool to have, but it wouldnt be something that I would use very often. Similarly I have been considering buying a 3d printer, however I cannot justify the price. I would use it a handful of times and be done with it until something popped into my head.

But as I work on Arduino projects, i come to the point where I need a finalized printed circuit board and an enclosure. It would be nice to have the circuit printer and the 3d printer to make both of those myself.

[OReubens]

you're missing the point.
The circuitprinter is just "any" inkjet printer out there which has a cartridge system that allows it to be "refueled".