Plastic Circuits Designed To Enable Tough, Green Computers 67
DanS writes "Computerworld has an article about two Australian engineers who have invented 'Circuits in Plastic' technology. CIP designs aim to be more environmentally friendly than traditional circuits as they can be made from recycled plastic, don't contain any hazardous substances, and since packaging is part of the base circuit board, there is no need for additional packaging material. As an added bonus, different 3D shaped circuits can be made using CIP, which are also waterproof. No more ruining cell phones by getting them wet! The hope is that the technology will reduce the amount of toxic electronic waste in landfills, as even with lead-free technology, etching of existing printed circuit boards (and disposal of the chemicals) is a significant issue during manufacturing."
switching is going to be a real bitch (Score:5, Insightful)
If this process is going to be mainstream they'll have to get some kind of cost benefit attached, otherwise the only way there is going to be a switch is through legislation.
Recycling Circuits (Score:2, Insightful)
Of course now our electronics will have to be added to the list of things we can't just throw away when they quit working. I mean... there's plastic IN there.
"No more ruining cell phones by getting them wet!" (Score:5, Insightful)
So the battery is encased in plastic as well and thus can't be recharged by an external connection?
There are also no other external connectors like headphone jacks or USB ports?
There are plenty of technologies to waterproof electronics, they are just limited by the above inconveniences. The reason that the traditional circuit manufacturing technique is so environmentally unfriendly is because it is incredibly cheap. There are all sorts of ways it could be made more environmentally sound (like not shipping "recycled" electronics to Africa/China to be broken up by children), but it is not going to happen without significant market or government intervention.
And plastics aren't that great environmentally to begin with, even if they contain significant amounts of recycled material.
Re:"No more ruining cell phones by getting them we (Score:2, Insightful)
Maybe not (Score:4, Insightful)
One of the major reasons many businesses outsourced their electronics production was because of environmental and workplace safety issues due to the heavy metals and solvents used and left over. If widely adopted, this sort of thing could jump start a mini industrial revolution. I would think that re-usable components would reduce the cost of replacement parts on all electronic devices, especially with widespread adoption. Do you have any idea how many perfectly good resistors and capacitors lie in landfills? And the amount of chemical waste to produce those wasted components... Big business would have to be pretty ignorant to pass this one up if it works half as well as it appeared to on the video. Also, as someone who has worked in most aspects of electronics manufacture (PCB fab, IC fab, IC packaging, and SMD / through hole assembly and test from r&d to mass production scales), I could see this process being more efficient and less costly than current SMD and PCB manufacturing. Hard to say for sure without finding out more, but this looks hopeful!
Re:switching is going to be a real bitch (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally I hate the idea of using the blunt instrument of legislation - I think it's likely that such technology with find a niche without a requirement of special government protection. Government protection can lead to such lame ducks as the US Sugar industry (undercut by corn syrup that actually costs more than sugar anywhere else), the US Steel industry (protected so no reason to be competative, then manufacturing jobs moved to where steel was cheaper and of higher quality), or the US vehicle industry (lower quality than Brazil at higher prices, which is bizzare since the same companies are producing excellent vehicles elsewhere).
Re:Recycling Circuits (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:When can I start placing orders? (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't even start with RF. This could only work for simple low performance digital circuits. Screen printed conductors are too crappy for high-speed designs.
Of course authors forgot to mention that pretty much any circuit can be made waterproof by conformal coating or dipping into epoxy.
How do they interconnect the devices? (Score:3, Insightful)
I cannot find anywhere how this system interconnects the components.
They write about the issues of current technology (solder containing lead, chemicals for etching PCB boards), but don't give an insight how their technology works around these problems. Encasing your whole device in plastic is neat, but the components will still have to be interconnected.
How? I cannot find it in the article, nor on the site of Griffith University.
Re:"No more ruining cell phones by getting them we (Score:3, Insightful)
It's cheaper (Score:3, Insightful)
I saw this. The designers claim it works out about 10% cheaper than conventional PCBs.