An engineer with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s (AMRC) Design and Prototyping Group has developed a unique hybrid 3D printing process that allows electrical, optical, and structural elements to be introduced throughout an additively manufactured component during the build process.

'THREAD’ is a patent-pending technology, which means components can now be manufactured with in-built, continuous connectivity and additional functionality passing through the X, Y and Z axes.

The fully automated THREAD process is suited to a variety of additive manufacturing (AM) platforms. It has so far been successfully demonstrated on machines used for 3D printing polymer components.