Pioneering safety with ESD-safe 3D printing

Electrostatic discharges, often abbreviated as ESD, occur almost continuously in our everyday lives. However, we humans usually do not feel them, as we can only perceive them from a certain strength, from about 2,000 volts.

The most common everyday situation in which we experience electrostatic discharge is probably simply touching a metal banister. Since the human body is very poor at dissipating electrical charge, static charge builds up over time, which then quickly – and painfully – discharges when touching a conductive object.

However, electrostatic discharges are dangerous for components even at much lower voltages. From as little as 10 volts, an electrostatic discharge can cause damage to sensitive components, and at higher voltages, it can even cause ignition of these components.

As a result, many industries rely on materials that completely prevent electrostatic discharge. While traditional manufacturing methods have a range of ESD-safe materials, producing components using these methods can be challenging.

In recent years, the range of ESD-safe materials designed for 3D printing has multiplied, which is why more and more companies are turning to additive manufacturing for their components. This blog post is intended to explain the reasons for this change and to show how we, as a 3D printing service provider, ensure that our customers receive maximum security.

What is electrostatic discharge?

I have already provided a brief and well-known insight into the consequences of electrostatic discharge using the example of the metal stair railing, but a little more detail is needed to fully understand the concept of electrostatic discharge.

Of course, electrostatic discharge is preceded by a charge. This can occur in a variety of ways, but in the case of electrostatic discharges, the cause is usually friction electricity or the triboelectric effect.

When two different components come into contact with each other, electrons are transferred from one of the materials to the other if the two components have different electroaffinities, also known as triboelectric series. This is usually the case with components made of different materials, but it can also happen with components made of the same materials. The component that receives the excess of electrons is thereby negatively charged, while the other component is positively charged.

This electron imbalance and thus the static charge is intensified by repeated friction or contact. Air can slowly dissipate this charge, but especially in very dry air this is not sufficient, which means that the voltage difference cannot be equalised.

If this voltage difference in the air exceeds 3 MV/m, the air becomes electrically conductive, causing the electrons to jump around uncontrollably. This process is also known as dielectric breakdown and is the process that causes an electrostatic discharge.

Which materials are susceptible to electrostatic discharge?

Generally speaking, materials can be categorised into three different types: conductive materials, insulating materials and dissipative materials, with dissipative materials being precisely those that ensure ESD safety.

Conductive materials have a very low surface resistance, usually below 10³ ohms, which allows electrons to move freely across the component and thus prevent static build-up. Examples of such materials include many metals.

If only such materials are used, there is no risk of electrostatic discharge. However, as our previous example with the stair railing shows, combining conductive and insulating materials can still lead to electrostatic discharges if the electroaffinity of the insulating material is higher than that of the conductive material. In addition, conductive materials increase the risk of other electrical hazards, such as short circuits.

Insulating materials are the exact opposite of conductive materials. They have a very high surface resistance, usually over 10¹² ohms, which means that the electrons cannot move freely over the component and can thus lead to a charge.

Most plastics, as well as glass and ceramics, fall into this category. This category poses the greatest risk for electrostatic discharges. Even the smallest differences in the electroaffinity between individual components can cause enough voltage to build up on the components during continuous operation and dry air to be finally discharged in a destructive surge.

With a surface resistance between 10⁶ and 10⁹ ohms, dissipative materials are the ‘happy medium’. This ensures that electrons can move across the component, but much more controlled than in conductive materials, which ideally enables protection against electrostatic discharges.

However, materials with this level of surface resistance do not occur naturally, which is why they have to be specially formulated. This usually involves combining plastics with conductive fillers, such as carbon fibres, to achieve a symbiosis of the plastic's high surface resistance and the filler's low surface resistance.

These material properties can now be found in a wide range of 3D printing materials. Whether resin, filament or powder, ESD-safe materials can now be found across all plastic printing technologies.

Advantages of 3D printing for ESD-safe components

Additive manufacturing for ESD-safe components offers numerous advantages, which we will now discuss in detail.

Freedom of design
One of the biggest advantages of 3D printing is the unlimited freedom of design. Whether complex geometries, fine details or internal structures, additive manufacturing offers countless possibilities for the electronics industry to implement ideas and designs.

This design freedom is ideally suited to a wide range of applications. Whether it's electronic housings with integrated ventilation ducts, connectors with customised shapes or complex assemblies that can be produced as a single continuous component thanks to 3D printing, the possibilities opened up by additive manufacturing are truly unique.

Reduced lead times
The electronics industry is a relatively volatile market compared to other industries. Due to the constant increase in product complexity and frequent fluctuations in the supply-demand ratio, order books can quickly change from empty to overfilled, which poses major challenges for producers with conventional manufacturing processes.

However, these challenges are no longer relevant when additive manufacturing is used. There are no changeover times to consider, no tools to be provided and no need to plan for large-scale production changes. As soon as the digital model is available, all that is needed is the appropriate material in the printer and production can be started at the push of a button, making it easy to handle even short-term changes in design or production volume.

Cost efficiency
As in any other industry, the issue of production costs is also of the utmost importance for the electronics industry. Due to the special material properties required for the production of electronic components, scrap in particular plays a major role, since the materials are in the higher-priced segment.

While conventional production methods can achieve scrap rates of up to 90%, additive manufacturing only uses the material that is absolutely necessary. The scrap rate for 3D printing is on average only 3 to 5%, including the necessary support structures. This can result in massive cost savings, especially for series production, but individual production also benefits from lower production costs due to the reduced workload.

Rapid prototyping
3D printing, which is inherently associated with shorter lead times but still deserves its own section due to the importance of comprehensive prototyping processes in the electronics industry, offers the ideal opportunity to transform classic prototyping into rapid prototyping.

Additive manufacturing makes it possible to significantly shorten iteration cycles. This means that all product aspects – whether design, functionality or safety – can be tested more comprehensively, ultimately leading to more sophisticated end products.

Our options for ESD-safe components
As one of the largest 3D printing service providers in Europe, we have dedicated ourselves in particular to the electronics industry, in order to provide the aforementioned advantages to this industry in full, without the company having to bear large acquisition costs.

In addition to our large capacities for 3D printing systems, which we use to cover a wide range of requirements and production volumes – from single items to large series – we also focus on the materials that we use to guarantee the best possible ESD protection.

For this reason, last month we entered into an exclusive partnership with the material manufacturer Mechnano, which is known for its exceptional D'Func technology. This technology greatly improves the dispersion of the functionalized carbon tubes, not only achieving improved performance and durability, but also ensuring the uniformity of mechanical properties across the entire component.

Through this partnership, we are able to offer our customers and partners the exceptional Formula1B resin from Mechnano for their projects on an exclusive basis. This material impresses with an isotropic surface resistance of 10⁷ Ohm and, in addition, excellent resistance to chemicals as well as outstanding surface quality and detail resolution.

If you would like to find out more about the possibilities of 3D printing, our service portfolio or Mechnano's materials for the electronics industry, you can meet our experts at Rapid.Tech 3D 2025 at booth 2-109. We will be happy to advise you on the best approach to making the switch to additive manufacturing!