Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1108006
APRIL 2019 I FLEX007 MAGAZINE 77 work. In the last month, I've done two of those demonstrations, so they're very interested. Matties: So, the rate of acceptance and integra- tion of 3D printing into our world is a hockey stick now. Christenson: Absolutely. The difficulty is that a lot of these have long qualifications. Thank- fully, medical device companies and the FDA are very conservative. Also, military stuff has to work for 20 years; it's not cheap consumer stuff that will be replaced in a year and doesn't matter if it doesn't work. People's lives depend on this stuff, so it's going to take a while and a lot of successful tests before they will bet their lives on it. Matties: Really, the IP that you're offering is the jet. Christenson: Actually, we're a printer company. We make the printhead, so that's our main product. We do automation just because a lot of our customers don't want to do the auto- mation themselves. So, if our automation fits your need, fine. If not, we'll help you bolt our head onto your automation. For instance, with the people printing on the turbine blade, that didn't fit our automation, so they made their own. Matties: But they're using your printhead. Christenson: Yes. And likewise, our automa- tion is fairly general and used for a wide num- ber of purposes. Let's say that you're going to replace wire bonding. A company may have 1,000 wire bonders. It's cost effective to make an automation solution that only does exactly what they need and nothing more. So, those are the things we're working with now. Matties: Now, when someone takes or uses your printhead, what's that revenue model? Christenson: This time, they're just purchasing it. And there are spares that they will be pur- chasing, but we do not supply inks. We are dependent on the materials vendors. And if you think of all the skill set out there in mate- rials vendors with names like DuPont and HD MicroSystems, there's not a chance we can keep up with them. So, we are ink agnostic. We'll tell you what you need, and we'd love for you to bring us a sample. Matties: And the technology has grown. How many years have you been at this now? Christenson: I believe it's about 12. It has been slow in coming partially because the materials are just catching up. I think it was an answer before the question was fully formed, but the question is formed now. If you want to print the circuit on the inside surface of your hearing aid case, I think we're the only game in town. Matties: What is your role in the company? Christenson: They call me a senior scien- tist. I'm involved with proof of concept. For example, I become involved when a company comes and says, "We want you to connect our chip for an image sensor. We don't have room for a 45-micron arc of wire bonds, so we have to have all of these connections. And, by the Dr. Kurt Christenson