Changing the future of the manufacturing industry with additive manufacturing

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that its ME Innovation Fund, has invested in Elephantech Inc. The startup is the first company in the world to successfully mass-produce printed circuit boards using metal inkjet printing. This is the fund’s fourth investment in a target company.

Under its mission of Making the world sustainable with new manufacturing technologies, Elephantech uses its metal inkjet printing and copper plating technologies to manufacture and sell P-Flex^® flexible printed circuit boards (PCB). The company has established a unique manufacturing method called Pure Additive^TM which has a lower environmental impact than conventional manufacturing methods. With this technology, the company is working toward eco-friendly and sustainable manufacturing.

PCBs are indispensable to manufacturing, but the conventional method of producing PCBs generates considerable waste. The conventional method is a subtractive method in which copper foil is first laminated entirely on the substrate and then removed where unnecessary to form a circuit. This method however requires a large amount of water. In contrast, Elephantech’s metal inkjet printing technology allows metal to be printed on a substrate only where necessary. This not only minimizes the consumption of natural resources and water but also reduces any waste that is generated in the production process.

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