Enhancing the Manufacturability of Biodegradable PLA/Flax PCB Assemblies Through Design

Electronic waste is a significant environmental problem today, which is why our research aims at developing sustainable, biodegradable materials. In previous research at the Department of Electronics Technology at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, we successfully created a working Arduino Nano circuit on a biodegradable polylactic-acid (PLA)-based, flame-retarded, flax-reinforced substrate. The manufacturing process needs constant optimization, and the yield needs improvement for better manufacturability. This research presents an approach and interim results to improve the yield of production by reconsidering the design rules on an Arduino Uno re-design, based on “just enough technology” mindset.