Ibai Santamaría | Tecnalia Research & Innovation: How do you print 100-micron sensor traces inside a composite part without creating a weak point that causes it to delaminate under stress?

How can you seamlessly integrate electronics into standard composite manufacturing workflows like RTM or infusion without disrupting the entire process?

Integrating printed electronics into the diverse world of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) manufacturing presents a significant challenge. With numerous processes like Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), vacuum infusion, and pre-preg layups, each with unique parameters, developing a universal integration method seems daunting. A solution that requires a complete overhaul of these established, capital-intensive workflows would face immense resistance from the industry. The key is to find a common point of intervention that is agnostic to the subsequent curing and consolidation steps.

Tecnalia's core strategy targets the one phase common to nearly all composite manufacturing: the initial layup. Instead of trying to print on a finished part or developing a complex in-situ process, their approach is to functionalize the raw materials themselves. By printing electronic circuits—such as heaters, antennas, or wiring—directly onto the glass or carbon fiber fabrics before they are stacked into the mold, the electronic functionality becomes an intrinsic part of the composite's pre-form.

This elegant approach transforms a standard reinforcing fabric into a "smart" ply. This functionalized ply can then proceed through the customer's existing manufacturing line with minimal modification. The result is a high-value composite part with fully embedded, protected electronics, achieved by adding a step at the very beginning of the value chain rather than trying to force-fit a solution at the end. This de-risks adoption and makes the integration of sensing, heating, or other functionalities scalable and compatible with existing industrial infrastructure.

In this short video, you can learn:
* The common stages in all fiber-reinforced plastic manufacturing processes.
* A strategy for integrating printed electronics by targeting the fabric layup phase.
* How this approach creates a "smart" composite part with added value from the very beginning.

📋 **Clip Abstract** This clip outlines a powerful strategy for embedding electronics into fiber-reinforced composites by intervening at the earliest, most universal stage of manufacturing. The approach involves printing functionalities directly onto the reinforcing fabrics before they are laid up, making it compatible with a wide range of existing industrial processes.
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You can't screen print fine lines on a random mesh of fibers, right? Think again.

A common misconception about printing on non-woven materials like electrospun veils is that their fibrous, porous nature would preclude high-resolution printing. An engineer would rightly assume that the "rat's nest" of fibers would cause ink to bleed and prevent the sharp edge definition required for 100-micron traces. This would seemingly make a standard, high-throughput technique like screen printing impractical for creating the precise geometries needed for sensors or fine-pitch interconnects on such a material.

The speaker provides a critical clarification on the process that makes this possible. The electrospun veil is not handled as a loose, fluffy mesh during the printing step. Instead, it is manufactured and processed as a cohesive, uniform, sheet-like substrate. For printing, this thin veil is fixed onto the vacuum bed of a standard screen printing machine, in exactly the same way one would mount a conventional PET or PEN film.

This simple but crucial process detail is the key to success. By treating the veil as a standard, flat substrate, the screen and squeegee can operate under normal process conditions, depositing the ink with high precision. This enables the creation of features with resolutions down to 100 microns, a level of detail comparable to printing on polymer films. This insight bridges the gap between the advanced material science of the electrospun veil and the practical, scalable reality of industrial printing processes.

In this short video, you can learn:
* How to handle electrospun veils as a substrate in a standard screen printing process.
* The achievable resolution when printing on these specialized non-woven materials (down to 100 microns).
* The key insight that the veil acts as a flat, stable substrate, not a loose fiber mesh, during printing.

📋 **Clip Abstract** This clip addresses a key technical question: how is high-resolution printing possible on a fibrous electrospun veil? The speaker clarifies that the veil is used as a stable, sheet-like substrate in a conventional screen printer, enabling feature sizes down to 100 microns, comparable to printing on standard PET films.
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