Optimization parameters effects on electrical conductivity of 3D printed circuits fabricated by direct ink writing method using functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes and polyvinyl alcohol conductive ink

Abstract

Fabrication of electronic circuits and the effects of optimization parameters on electrical conductivity of the printed circuits fabricated by direct ink writing method (D.I.W); one of the novel methods in 3D printing technologies is discussed in this work. This paper focuses on fabrication of electronic circuits using F-MWCNT/PVA conductive ink and analyses the effect of input printing process parameters namely nozzle diameter, extrusion pressure, printing speed on evaluating the electrical conductivity. Box–Behnken approach is followed to generate the levels of experiments and the performance of developed model is assessed using ANOVA. Response surface method is incorporated to find the influencing parameters on electrical conductivity response. Two-point probe measurement method is performed to analyse the output response of the printed electronic circuits. Optimized printing parameters such as nozzle diameter of 0.8 mm, extrusion pressure of 0.1 MPa and printing speed of 4 mm/sec are found to be the best the for printing electronic circuits with high electrical conductivity.