The field of Structural Health Monitoring looks to revolutionize how we interact with our physical environment. Utilizing dense sensor networks scientists and engineers extract information about structures and machines in real time; finding flaws, fatigue, stress, wear and defects in structures before they evolve into damage. This future relies on the development of low-cost sensing solutions. The evolution of MEMS sensors has helped to develop this market by reducing the size and power of sensors however, these sensing systems are still built and packaged using decades old PCB manufacturing technologies. Additive PCB manufacturing promises to upend the current state of the art in structural monitoring technology by revolutionizing the packaging of sensing systems. Low-cost, high-volume additive techniques open the design envelope for sensing systems by allowing the use of novel substrates and materials to create unique and robust technologies that can provide improved size, weight and cost for performance. In this presentation NextFlex will discuss novel electronic sensing systems it has developed based on these additive manufacturing techniques. By replacing the standard PCB with printed FHE alternatives NextFlex has created systems which provide sensing capabilities in lighter, smaller, and more mechanically flexible formats. NextFlex has pushed the development of these techniques from 8-bit MCUs to complete sensing systems. In its latest iterations NextFlex has developed integrated sensing solutions based on FHE PCB manufacturing techniques featuring all the capabilities of commercial sensing systems. When paired with novel packaging techniques such as silicone molding these devices become truly unique, replacing rigid sensing boxes with lightweight and flexible sensing tags. The introduction of additive electronics manufacturing for sensing systems promises a revolutionary change, allowing for lower cost, unique formfactors and highly customizable design. With this capability large-scale, high-density sensor networks become feasible. Helping open a future to large scale and cost-effective monitoring.
