Conductive ABS
Following on from the last blog we posted, we wanted to write a short piece on conductive ABS
PRE-ELEC ABS 1410 is a conductive thermoplastic compound based on ABS. Conductivity is achieved by using special conductive carbon black. In addition to a low electrical resistivity PRE-ELEC ABS 1410 has excellent mechanical properties and is relatively easy to extrude.
It can be used for anti static, static dissipative, conduction of electric current and screen of electromagnetic interference shielding.
You can make up circuit boards with a 3D printer they can be made at the same size and thickness as a standard through-hole soldered, perfboard and components can be fairly easily connected together without using solder.
This technique is somewhat faster than standard etched and soldered circuit boards. But it does require some skill and attention to detail to create a reliable circuit.
Early reports regarding the Chinese version of ABS 1410 are not great, but we found a company in the Netherlands who produce the same polymer and we will investigate this further. We have attached the data sheet to this blog.
You could also just print the same model with normal PLA or ABS and then use Conductive ink and you’ll get the very similar effect.