Having been in the industry for 25 years in a global capacity, I’ve held positions in manufacturing, R&D, sales, business development, operations, and customer engagement ranging from the bottom of the ladder to working as an executive. Throughout this tenure, I’ve noticed a change within the industry. Trade shows are in decline, public, technical articles are more difficult to come by, and in the age of information with everything at your fingertips, a large amount of information is either dated, irrelevant, or impossible to extract from the mass of other information it’s compiled in (I’m looking at you, market reports that include solar cell data in annual forecasts…)
This is the first article in a monthly series that is designed to rectify that in a simple, easy to understand format that can be read by people with little to no technical background, while also providing highly relevant information to the engineering sector for people who make the raw materials of conductive inks up to the OEM. Some of these articles, like this introduction, will be presented in a casual format akin to discussions across the dinner table with others diving into highly technical formats.
Throughout this journey, I’ll also invite others to collaborate on these discussions from other aspects of the industry, whether it be customers, other manufacturers, OEMs, or end use market experts, in an attempt to start answering the questions that people just entering the additive manufacturing/printed electronics industry may have as well as those from the seasoned veterans.
Some examples of these topics include:
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Additive Manufacturing State of the Union: 2025 (the next article in this series)
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A republishing and modernization of the article written in 2012, “Pushing the Limits of Functional Printed Inks”
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Best-in-class manufacturing practices for printers of conductive inks
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Global market pulls for the advancement of additive manufacturing
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Quality practices that you can use for incoming raw materials
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Application design and understanding (medical devices, PTC heaters, wearables, etc.)
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Topics suggested by readers
My first topic for next month will cover: the State of the Union in Printed Electronics & Additive Manufacturing for 2025. In this article, I’ll lay out a 30,000-foot view of the materials, manufacturing methods, and markets that are captured under the Printed Electronics umbrella of today as well as looking into the global development road map for tomorrow. We are very excited about this piece and look forward to industry feedback once it goes live.
Stick around, this is going to be fun.
About Ryan Banfield
With 25 years of industry experience in various capacities such as manufacturing, R&D, sales, business development, operations, and customer engagement, Ryan Banfield is a seasoned professional with a thorough understanding of the global market. Currently he is serving as the Global Product Manager for polymer thick film materials at Heraeus Electronics in Conshohocken, PA.
Ryan embarked on his remarkable journey at a young age, launching his first commercial product at the age of 16, based on an old patent for the first phone. His dedication and passion for understanding end use market trends have driven him to educate customers and share insights at various trade shows. Additionally, Ryan has established support and technical solutions centers, authored articles published in multiple languages globally, and contributed as a consultant for standards development. Notably, his valuable contributions led to the receipt of the Swormstedt award for one of his published articles.
Ryan is also a staunch advocate for the advancement of additive manufacturing and continues to leverage his expertise to drive innovation and excellence in the industry.
