System for forming electrical circuits on non-planar objects
An object printing system printer enables printing of electrical circuits on non-planar areas of objects and the accurate placement of electronic components within the printed circuits. The system includes a direct-to-object printer and an electronic component placement system. The direct-to-object printer is configured to form an electrical circuit on an object secured within the direct-to-object printer. The electronic component placement system is configured to retrieve an electronic component and install the electronic component in the electrical circuit on the object secured within the direct-to-object printer in response to the direct-to-object printer generating a signal for the electronic component placement system that indicates the electronic component is to be installed in the circuit on the object secured within the direct-to-object printer.
1. An object printing system comprising:
a direct-to-object printer, the direct-to-object printer being configured to form an electrical circuit on an object secured within the direct-to-object printer and to generate a signal that indicates an electronic component is to be installed in the electrical circuit formed on the object secured within the direct-to-object printer; and
an electronic component placement system, the electronic component placement system being configured to retrieve the electronic component and install the retrieved electronic component in the electrical circuit formed on the object by the direct-to-object printer in response to the electronic component placement system receiving the signal generated by the direct-to-object printer that indicates the electronic component is to be installed in the electrical circuit formed on the object secured within the direct-to-object printer.
2. The object printing system of claim 1 , the direct-to-object printer further comprising:
a holder configured to secure the object on which the electrical circuit is formed;
an aerosol printer configured to direct a fluid containing conductive material toward the object secured by the holder to form the electrical circuit on the object;
a plurality of actuators operatively connected to the holder, the actuators in the plurality of actuators being configured to move the holder along three orthogonal axes bidirectionally and to rotate the holder about two of the orthogonal axes bidirectionally, the two orthogonal axes about which the holder rotates being within a plane orthogonal to the third axis; and
a controller operatively connected to the plurality of actuators and the aerosol printer, the controller being configured to operate the actuators in the plurality of actuators to move the holder along three orthogonal axes bidirectionally and to rotate the holder about the two orthogonal axes within the plane perpendicular to the third axis bidirectionally, and to operate the aerosol printer to direct the fluid containing the conductive material toward the object secured by the holder to form the electrical circuit on the object.
3. The object printing system of claim 2 , the controller operatively connected to the aerosol printer being further configured to generate the signal for the electronic component placement system that indicates the electronic component is to be installed in the electrical circuit on the object secured by the holder.
4. The object printing system of claim 3 , the controller operatively connected to the aerosol printer being further configured to
generate the signal for the electronic component placement system to identify the electronic component to be installed in the electrical circuit on the object secured by the holder and the position where the electronic component is to be installed.
5. The object printing system of claim 4 , the electronic component placement system further comprising:
a receptacle configured to hold a plurality of electronic components;
a gripper configured to retrieve one electronic component from the receptacle;
a plurality of actuators, the actuators in the plurality of actuators being operatively connected to the gripper; and
a controller operatively connected to the actuators in the plurality of actuators operatively connected to the gripper and to the controller of the aerosol printer, the controller being configured to operate the actuators operatively connected to the gripper to retrieve with the gripper the electronic component identified by the signal generated by the controller of the aerosol printer and to install the electronic component in the electrical circuit on the object with the gripper in response to the signal generated by the controller of the aerosol printer.
6. The object printing system of claim 5 , the electronic component placement system further comprising:
an imaging unit mounted to move with the gripper, the imaging unit being configured to generate image data of a position opposite the gripper; and
the controller being operatively connected to the imaging unit, the controller being further configured to receive the image data generated by the imaging unit and to process the received image data to confirm the position for installation of the electronic component.
7. The object printing system of claim 6 wherein the gripper is a vacuum pad.
8. The object printing system of claim 7 wherein the imaging unit is a CCD camera.
9. An object printing system comprising:
a multi-nozzle extruder configured to extrude a material containing conductive material toward an object secured by a holder to form an electrical circuit on the object;
a plurality of actuators operatively connected to the multi-nozzle extruder, the actuators in the plurality of actuators being configured to move the multi-nozzle extruder along three orthogonal axes bidirectionally and to rotate the multi-nozzle extruder about two of the orthogonal axes bidirectionally, the two orthogonal axes about which the multi-nozzle extruder rotates being within a plane perpendicular to the third axis; and
a controller operatively connected to the plurality of actuators and the multi-nozzle extruder, the controller being configured to operate the actuators in the plurality of actuators to move the aerosol printer along three orthogonal axes bidirectionally and to rotate the multi-nozzle extruder about the two orthogonal axes within the plane perpendicular to the third axis bidirectionally, to operate the multi-nozzle extruder to extrude the material containing the conductive material toward the object secured by the holder to form the electrical circuit on the object, and to generate a signal that indicates an electronic component is to be installed in the electrical circuit formed on the object secured by the holder; and
an electronic component placement system, the electronic component placement system being configured to retrieve the electronic component and install the electronic component in the electrical circuit formed by the multi-nozzle extruder when operated by the controller on the object secured by the holder in response to the electronic component placement system receiving the signal generated by the multi-nozzle extruder that indicates the electronic component is to be installed in the electrical circuit formed on the object secured by the holder.
10. The object printing system of claim 9 , the controller being further configured to generate the signal to identify the electronic component to be installed in the electrical circuit on the object secured by the holder and the position where the electronic component is to be installed.
11. The object printing system of claim 10 , the electronic component placement system further comprising:
a receptacle configured to hold a plurality of electronic components;
a gripper configured to retrieve one electronic component from the receptacle;
a plurality of actuators, the actuators in the plurality of actuators being operatively connected to the gripper; and
a controller operatively connected to the actuators in the plurality of actuators operatively connected to the gripper and to the controller of the aerosol printer, the controller being configured to operate the actuators operatively connected to the gripper to retrieve with the gripper the electronic component identified by the signal generated by the controller of the aerosol printer and to install the electronic component in the electrical circuit on the object with the gripper in response to the signal generated by the controller of the aerosol printer.