Introducing Flight Hub – A New Tool for Additive Manufacturing of Electronics

Changing Electronics Design

In today’s product development landscape, the seamless integration of mechanical design (MCAD) and electronic design (ECAD) is paramount but often overlooked. Recognizing this gap, our venture, Flight Hub, embarks on a mission to revolutionize this integration, envisioning a world where mechanical and electrical designs complement rather than hinder each other.

Especially in the realm of 3D printing, this vision gains exceptional potency. In additive manufacturing of electronics (AME), the potential for innovation in form factor knows no bounds. Traditional constraints like layers and drills are rendered obsolete, offering designers the freedom to route at any angle in space and embed components across multiple layers. Flight Hub endeavors to lead the industry on this transformative journey, with several key objectives:

1. Exploration: Providing engineers, designers, product owners, and academics with efficient access to the AME space, enabling them to explore its possibilities comprehensively.
2. Acceleration: Streamlining the design process to expedite product development.
3. Validation: Ensuring the practical application of AME meets industry standards and requirements.
4. Optimization: Fine-tuning designs to enhance efficiency and performance.

Key Features of FLIGHT HUB

Flight Hub introduces several innovative features tailored for additive digital manufacturing of electronics:

1. Parametric AME Component Design: Offering powerful parametric designs for complex electronic components, users can explore and benefit from 3D component design, either from scratch or by importing existing MCAD designs.
2. Access to a Collection of AME Devices: Users can customize and utilize a variety of AME devices such as capacitors, coils, coaxial lines, and twisted pairs, transcending the limitations of traditional manufacturing processes.
3. Integration of ECAD: Tight integration with MCAD tools allows for seamless collaboration between mechanical and electrical designers, enabling effortless export and preview of ECAD components.
4. Advanced Routing Capabilities: Flight Hub empowers users with volumetric routing capabilities, facilitating the integration of diagonal traces and intricate 3D pathways to optimize space and electrical performance.
5. Component Embedding: Enabling seamless embedding of AME components within circuit boards, users can access a built-in library or incorporate external components as needed.
6. Intuitive Design Interface: With an intuitive interface, Flight Hub caters to both seasoned engineers and newcomers, accelerating the design process and fostering innovation.
7. Compatibility with Leading Manufacturing Standards: Supporting the import of designs in IPC-2581 fabrication format ensures smooth workflow from design to production, maintaining data integrity throughout.

Through Flight Hub, we aim to bridge the gap between mechanical and electrical design realms, empowering designers to push the boundaries of innovation in additive manufacturing of electronics.

DESIGN FOR AME FLOW

Several design flows are possible:

• AME component creation and ECAD library generation.
• Usage of AME devices inside supported EDA tools.
• Conversion and processing of standard PCB designs into AME manufacturable devices.

Dashboard

Allows the management of fully AME designs, a collection of AME components or explore sample designs.

Component Factory

Parametrical creation of AME components

Parametrical Creation of AME Components. This capability revolutionizes the design process, allowing designers to create complex electronic components with unprecedented flexibility and efficiency.

With Flight Hub’s parametric design tools, designers can easily customize AME components to meet specific requirements and preferences. Whether it’s adjusting dimensions, modifying shapes, or fine-tuning electrical properties, Flight Hub empowers designers to iterate rapidly and explore a wide range of design variations.

This parametric approach eliminates the need for manual modeling of each component variation, saving time and reducing the risk of errors. Designers can confidently experiment with different design configurations, knowing that Flight Hub seamlessly updates the parametric model in real-time.

Furthermore, Flight Hub’s parametric AME component creation extends beyond basic geometry manipulation. Designers can incorporate advanced features such as variable material properties, electrical characteristics, and thermal behavior, enabling the creation of highly customized components tailored to specific applications.

Digital Manufacture

Import IPC 2581: By enabling the import of designs in the IPC 2581 format, Flight Hub ensures seamless integration into the manufacturing workflow. This compatibility ensures that all necessary data is included, facilitating a smooth transition from design to production. Designers can confidently import their designs, knowing that they adhere to industry standards, thus streamlining the manufacturing process.

Automatically Sliceable Manifold 3D Designs: Flight Hub offers the groundbreaking ability to automatically slice manifold 3D designs, revolutionizing the additive manufacturing process. This feature simplifies the preparation of designs for printing, eliminating the need for manual intervention and ensuring optimal print quality. Designers can focus on creativity and innovation, knowing that Flight Hub seamlessly handles the technical aspects of design preparation.

Electrically Design Aware and Design Rule Checking: Flight Hub goes beyond traditional design tools by integrating electrical design awareness and robust design rule checking capabilities. This ensures that designs not only meet mechanical requirements but also adhere to electrical specifications and standards. Designers can confidently create designs knowing that Flight Hub provides real-time feedback on potential issues, helping to minimize errors and optimize performance.

Analytics

Through Flight Hub’s detailed material usage cost analysis per material and layer features, designers receive comprehensive insights into the cost implications of their designs, allowing for informed decision-making throughout the design process.

Flight Hub’s material usage cost analysis breaks down the cost of each material used in the design, providing a clear understanding of how different materials contribute to the overall cost. Designers can easily compare the cost of using different materials and make informed decisions based on budget constraints, performance requirements, and other factors.

Additionally, Flight Hub’s analysis includes a layer-by-layer breakdown of material usage, enabling designers to identify areas of high material consumption and optimize their designs accordingly. By understanding the cost implications of each layer, designers can make strategic adjustments to minimize material waste and reduce production costs.

Parts Library

Flight Hub simplifies the generation and management of 3D manufacturing files, streamlining collaboration within your company.

1. Easy Generation: Flight Hub offers an intuitive interface for effortlessly generating 3D manufacturing files. Designers can easily convert their designs into compatible formats such as STL, OBJ, or STEP with just a few clicks. This streamlined process ensures that manufacturing files are quickly generated, reducing downtime and accelerating the production timeline.
2. Efficient Management: Flight Hub provides a centralized platform for managing 3D manufacturing files within your company. Designers can organize files into folders, assign access permissions, and track version history, ensuring that everyone has access to the latest files and updates. This efficient management system promotes collaboration and prevents confusion, ultimately improving workflow efficiency.
3. Seamless Sharing: Flight Hub facilitates seamless sharing of 3D manufacturing files within your company. Designers can easily share files with colleagues, or other departments, ensuring that everyone has access to the information they need. Whether it’s sharing files for review, collaboration, or production, Flight Hub streamlines the sharing process, promoting communication and teamwork.
4. Version Control: Flight Hub includes robust version control features to track changes and revisions to 3D manufacturing files. Designers can easily compare different versions, revert to previous iterations, or merge changes from multiple contributors. This ensures that everyone is working with the latest version of the files, minimizing errors and ensuring consistency throughout the manufacturing process.

Empowering Innovation with Additive Manufacturing of Electronics

Empowering Innovation with Additive Manufacturing of Electronics introduces a paradigm shift in design possibilities, unshackling creativity from the constraints of traditional manufacturing methods by creating the freedom to explore, accelerate, validate and optimize. Here’s how this innovation opens up:

1. Integrated Multi-Material Components: By seamlessly blending different materials in a single print, designers can create components with unprecedented functionalities. This breakthrough allows for the realization of designs that were previously challenging or impossible to achieve.
2. Customized Electronic Assemblies: Additive manufacturing enables the creation of electronic assemblies tailored to specific applications. Whether it’s customized wearables or bespoke aerospace components, designers can craft intricate designs without the need for extensive retooling or new molds, thus saving time and resources.
3. Enhanced Thermal Management: With the ability to integrate efficient heat sinks and thermal management systems directly into electronic devices’ structure, additive manufacturing enhances performance while minimizing bulk and material usage. This capability ensures optimal functioning of electronic devices in various environments.

Moreover, the innovation in multi-material 3D dimensional structures empowers designers to integrate them seamlessly with existing electronics designs. This extends to creating multilayer stack-ups akin to “flex rigid on steroids,” where designers have the flexibility to place layers anywhere without incurring additional costs. This unprecedented freedom allows for the creation of highly intricate designs that were previously beyond reach.

Push the boundaries of electronics manufacturing

Flight Hub is not just software; it’s a transformational tool that is set to redefine the landscape of electronic product development. It facilitates the integration of mechanical and electronic design in ways that were not possible before.

Explore the boundless potential of your designs with Flight Hub and join us on this exciting journey into the future of additive manufacturing electronics. Whether you are looking to innovate in consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, or any other industry, Flight Hub provides the tools you need to turn visionary ideas into reality.

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