Opportunities and considerations for flexible electronics fabrication using a vinyl cutter

Fablabs have had a major impact on the accessibility of electronics fabrication, alongside innovation in the broader maker movement such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. From designing and milling custom printed circuit boards, to combining electronics and fabrics to make e-textiles, electronics fabrication is no longer restricted to professionally trained electronic engineers or highly skilled hobbyists. There is, however, a category of electronic device that has yet to see widespread uptake the fablab community: flexible electronics. Rather than describing any electronic circuit that is flexible, flexible electronics normally refers to circuits made from conductive tracks on flexible polymer films, either with or without components. Although flexible electronics manufacturing is an established industry, with applications ranging from e-textiles to soft robotics, there are relatively few documented flexible electronics projects from fablabs. This paper gives an overview of flexible electronics fabrication inside and outside fablabs, and explores potential methods for fablab-based fabrication using a vinyl cutter. Two flexible PCB fabrication methods are presented, and compared to standard techniques. Flexible circuit boards with features as small as 100 µm are demonstrated, along with practical considerations to be taken into account for high quality results, and discussion of needs for future work to properly validate the methods in collaboration with the fablab community.