Desktop printed circuit factory gets Kickstarted

29 October 2014 News

Squink promises to enable the creation of printed circuit boards (PCB) in minutes, from home, at the cost of a cup of coffee, and put an end to soldering headaches for relatively basic circuits.

The project is the brainchild of five young engineers from different disciplines, who came together at New York University’s Polytechnic School of Engineering. Going under the name ‘BotFactory’, their goal was to figure out a way to give electronic engineers and hobbyists the same flexibility afforded to software developers and industrial designers for prototyping their ideas.

Squink (a prototype of which is pictured) will fit on a desk and print conductive ink onto flexible or rigid substrates, and will even pick and place the necessary components using conductive glue. As it uses standard Gerber 274x files to print and assemble a circuit, it will allow circuit designers to easily adapt their current design process while making use of the ability to test and tune small parts of a circuit before integrating them into a larger system.

BotFactory has not yet committed to a date when customers will actually be able to buy their very own Squink, and is currently seeking capital to add to its Kickstarter funds and contributions from ‘angel’ investors.

For more information visit www.botfactory.co

Further reading:

Electronic News Digest
News
A brief synopsis of current global news relating to the electronic engineering fields with regards to company finances, general company news, and engineering technologies.

Read more...

---

Jemstech to produce PCB assemblies for Kamstrup
Jemstech News
Jemstech is pleased to announce that they have successfully concluded a supplier agreement with Kamstrup A/S in Denmark, a leading supplier of intelligent metering solutions in the global market.

Read more...

---

New appointments at Hiconnex
Hiconnex News
Hiconnex, a leading provider of electronic components and solutions, has announced key appointments to support its continued growth and commitments to its clients.

Read more...

---

FoundriesFactory service more affordable for smaller OEMs
News
Foundries.io has announced a new, tiered pricing scheme which reduces the cost of its highly regarded FoundriesFactory service for OEMs in the development phase of a new edge AI or Linux OS-based product.

Read more...

---

DMASS 2024 results
News
The semiconductor business faced a severe downturn, with a 31,9% decrease compared to 2023 and a 30,3% drop in Q4 2024 compared to the same period last year.

Read more...

---

Using satellite comms to end copper theft
News
According to Transnet COO Solly Letsoalo, the scourge of copper theft could be a thing of the past by eliminating the use of copper cabling and switching to a satellite communication system.

Read more...

---

Strategic merger: Etion Create and Nanoteq
Etion Create News
Reunert has announced the successful merger of two business units within the Applied Electronics Segment, namely Etion Create and Nanoteq, effective 1 October 2024.

Read more...

---

Securex South Africa 2025
Specialised Exhibitions News
Securex South Africa 2025 is co-located with A-OSH EXPO, Facilities Management Expo, and Firexpo to provide a time-saver for visitors looking for holistic solutions for their facilities.

Read more...

---

Chinese AI causes Silicon Valley stocks to tumble
News
Many stocks took a downward spike, with Nvidia being the hardest hit, losing 16,9% after one day’s trading.

Read more...

---

Silicon Labs 4th quarter results
News
Silicon Labs has reported financial results for the fourth quarter with highlights including a total revenue of $166 million and Home & Life revenue up 11% to $78 million.

Read more...

---