CircuitJet I · 2021–2024 · Discontinued
The original portable PCB printer.
CircuitJet I pioneered additive, on-demand desktop manufacturing of multi-layer printed circuit boards. Using precision inkjet technology, it printed conductive silver traces directly onto FR4, PET, and paper substrates, turning a BMP file into a functional board in minutes. No chemistry, no tooling.
CircuitJet I is no longer in production. The platform's lessons, and the materials science behind it, power the new CircuitJet IV, which adds a UV laser, full PCB stack-up (real bulk copper traces, plated vias, ENIG), and integrated SMT pick-and-place.
Product overview
A drag-and-drop PCB printer.
CircuitJet I treated printed circuits like a desktop print job. An engineer could drag and drop a BMP file representing a circuit pattern onto the machine and walk away. Same-day testing, drastically reduced logistical costs, no fab queue.
It printed onto rigid FR4, PET films, and paper substrates. The materials it used (Electroninks' particle-free conductive silver inks and dielectric inks) were non-toxic, and the cartridges were recyclable through standard desktop-cartridge recycling channels.
Where traditional PCB fabrication required chemical etchants, plating tanks, photolithography, and multi-day vendor turnarounds, CircuitJet I replaced them with three ink cartridges and a print head. The trade-off: silver-ink traces (rather than bulk copper) and a stack-up tuned for low-current prototyping rather than high-power production.
That trade-off is exactly what CircuitJet IV closes. The new platform lasers real bulk-copper traces, plates vias bath-free with our novel inks, and integrates SMT placement and AOI, taking the core idea of CircuitJet I and finishing the job.
At a glance
Format
Desktop inkjet printer for circuit patterns
Substrates
FR4, PET, paper
Conductor
Particle-free silver ink (printed on demand)
PCB finish
ENIG (gold)
Input format
BMP (drag-and-drop)
Cartridges
CRD · Cm-Cr-Sn · NiM-NiR-Au
Status
Discontinued
Design rules: common specs
Traditional PCB fab vs. CircuitJet I
How CircuitJet I's process compared to a traditional board-house workflow. The CircuitJet IV inherits the on-demand model and adds bulk-copper conductors, real plated vias, and integrated assembly.
Design rules: stackup
Layer stack comparison
USAF · October 2021
The Air Force used CircuitJet I.
In October 2021, Electroninks received a $1.5M Phase II SBIR contract from the U.S. Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) to deliver advanced manufacturing hardware and particle-free conductive inks for printed circuit boards.
The goal: agile, on-demand PCB manufacturing in austere remote environments, reducing waste and extending aircraft lifespans while improving mission readiness. CircuitJet I was the platform that proved the model, and the Air Force engagement informed every design decision on the successor CircuitJet IV.
Read the press releaseWhat's next
The next generation is here.
CircuitJet IV takes the on-demand, materials-first model that CircuitJet I pioneered and finishes the job: UV-laser-etched bulk-copper traces, bath-free plated vias, integrated pick-and-place, and AOI in one machine.
See CircuitJet IV