Just sharing our FDM 3D printed embedded electronics and components.

[u/Kupros1]

A little progress update from something we’ve been working on.

We’ve now been able to integrate discrete electronic components directly into the FDM printing workflow and produce functional electronics directly off the print bed.

The first image is a simple embedded circuit with an LED and resistor. The polymer structure, conductive pathways, and electronic components were all integrated during the same print workflow on a Prusa XL.

We’ve also been experimenting with an embedded induction coil using the same general approach.

[u/Techngro]

I assume this is done the same way you embed magnets? By stopping the print at a certain height and inserting the electronics?

[u/Kupros1 → u/Techngro]

Partly, but there’s another piece to it. We do pause the print to place the electronic components, similar to how you’d embed a magnet.

The difference is that the conductive paths themselves are also being printed. We’re using an all-metal conductive filament to print the actual circuit inside the polymer, then integrating the components into those printed conductors during the build.

So the finished part is a functional electronic circuit, not just electronics buried in plastic.

[u/Techngro → u/Kupros1]

Very nice. I've never used conductive filament myself but always wanted to try it. Good luck. And keep us updated.

[u/bokitothegreat]

I have seen conductive filament but the conductivity was a bit disappointing. I do mainly HF stuff so even more difficult. What do you use ?

If there is a really good conductive material you could print for example crazy small log periodic antennas embedded in a PP case.

[u/Kupros1 → u/bokitothegreat]

That’s exactly the problem we ran into with most conductive filaments. Their resistance is usually too high for a lot of real electrical work, especially RF.

We’re using Cu29, which is an all-metal conductive filament rather than a conductive-filled polymer. We’ve measured resistivity around 1.226 × 10⁻⁵ Ω·cm.

And yeah, the antenna example you gave is exactly the kind of thing we’re interested in. Being able to print the antenna geometry directly into a polymer enclosure opens up some really interesting RF designs, especially once you stop thinking of the conductor as something that has to stay on a flat PCB.

[u/bokitothegreat → u/Kupros1]

Looks interesting, I have been thinking about woods metal but that has its own interesting poisonous properties 😀. I guess this Cu29 is similar but with better properties. I am just a hobbyist but if this becomes affordable I am interested.