Sugimoto Masaaki | Elephantec: What if your printer could fix its own errors in real-time to achieve 50-micron features?

How do you scale an additive PCB process from niche to mass production?

Elephantec's pure additive method for creating circuit boards relies on a combination of printing a seed layer and then plating it with copper. Initially, the company perfected a process using a printed copper nano-ink followed by a proprietary, super high-speed electroless copper plating method. This unique plating technology was a core competency and the focus of their control and optimization efforts.

As the company expanded its capabilities from flexible circuits to more complex multilayer rigid boards, they encountered a significant challenge. The specialized high-speed electroless plating process proved difficult to manage and scale for the demands of multilayer fabrication. This technical limitation prompted a strategic evolution in their core manufacturing technology to ensure reliability and manufacturability.

To overcome this hurdle, Elephantec transitioned to a more robust and widely adopted plating approach. They now utilize a combination of standard electroless copper plating and electrolytic plating. This hybrid method is better suited for building the thicker, more uniform copper layers required in multilayer PCBs, representing a crucial process shift that enables their expansion into higher-volume, more complex circuit board markets.

In this short video, you can learn:
* The evolution of Elephantec's core additive manufacturing process.
* Why they moved away from a proprietary high-speed electroless plating method.
* How combining standard electroless and electrolytic plating enables scalable multilayer PCB production.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Elephantec details the strategic evolution of their metallization process for additive PCB manufacturing. They explain their shift from a specialized high-speed electroless plating method to a more scalable combination of standard electroless and electrolytic plating to enable multilayer board production.
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Can you plate a via hole with just a single inkjet pass?

Creating conductive vias to connect different layers is a critical and often complex step in multilayer PCB manufacturing. Conventional methods are subtractive and involve multiple chemical baths and processes to deposit a conductive seed layer inside the drilled holes before the final copper plating can occur. This multi-step sequence adds time, cost, and chemical waste to the production cycle.

Elephantec has developed a highly efficient additive solution that streamlines this entire process. Using a standard inkjet printer, they directly deposit a catalytic seed layer onto the inner wall of the via hole. This is a precise, single-pass operation that additively prepares the via for subsequent copper plating, completely bypassing the traditional chemical deposition steps.

This direct-write method for via seeding dramatically simplifies the manufacturing flow for double-sided and multilayer boards. By eliminating multiple conventional steps, it not only reduces manufacturing cost and time but also significantly lowers the process's carbon footprint and water usage. This innovation is a key enabler for producing complex, interconnected circuits more sustainably and efficiently.

In this short video, you can learn:
* How inkjet printing can be used to create conductive seed layers inside via holes.
* The single-step process for preparing vias for plating in multilayer PCBs.
* The benefits of this additive approach, including reduced cost, process steps, and environmental impact.
📋 **Clip Abstract** This clip reveals Elephantec's innovative method for creating conductive vias in multilayer circuit boards. They use inkjet technology to directly print a seed layer on the via wall in a single step, drastically simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs and environmental impact.
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