Spatial circuit carriers revolutionize product design, but at the same time present manufacturers and users with challenges in production. The new VDI / VDE guideline 3719 creates standards for quality assurance in the “manufacture of mechatronically integrated assemblies”. The basis is the MID (Mechatronic Integrated Devices) technology. The VDI / VDE guideline provides a tried and tested procedure for the production of MID components for the first time. The need for this is great: the components with three-dimensional conductor structures are produced, structured and metallized in various complex processes. In addition, the production chain mostly consists of individual steps by specialized actors.
“Our goal is to make MID easier to use. With the VDI / VDE guideline, we are creating important standards for quality assurance and an important instrument for efficient and competitive product development, ”said Dr. Christoph Jürgenhake, group leader at Fraunhofer IEM and coordinator of the responsible technical committee 5.6 of the VDE / VDI Society for Microelectronics, Microsystems and Precision Engineering (GMM). VDI / VDE 3719 is aimed at manufacturers and users of MID, provides tried-and-tested standards and enables better communication with each other, for example regarding the design and scope of services.
Image 1: The manufacture of MID is a complex process. The VDI / VDE guideline 3719 creates orientation and binding force; Source: Fraunhofer IEM
Opportunities for intelligent technical systems
Whether smartphone, machine tool or car: MID components in many cases complement the use of conventional circuit boards or completely replace them. They enable the development of complex technical systems while at the same time requiring little material and a high degree of design freedom. In addition to the currently largest area of application, antennas for mobile devices, the spatial circuit carriers are increasingly to be found in the area of integrated sensors, in the automotive sector or in medical technology.
MID-Lab offers easy access
Not every company has the opportunity to invest in its own development environment for MID. It is often helpful to approach the technology with small pilot projects. In the MID Lab of Fraunhofer IEM, small and medium-sized companies as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEM) from the fields of electronics manufacturing, sensor technology, automotive, avionics, medical technology and plant and automation technology can implement their ideas and product concepts – from the design phase to functional prototypes towards small series. A video on MID research at Fraunhofer IEM can be found here.
Further information about the completed research project “EFF-Project MID-QS Guideline”, which forms the basis of the VDI-VDE guideline, can be found here listed in 2016.
Source text: EPP Industrie
