Angled Nozzle Aerosol Jet Printing to Streamline Conformal Patterning of Electronics

ABSTRACT Aerosol jet printing is a compelling technology for electronics fabrication on non‐planar surfaces, but practical implementation on complex geometries typically requires sophisticated multi‐axis motion planning and hardware capabilities. Here, a modular angled printhead extension that redirects the nozzle orientation is developed, enabling a simple motion system to support tilted, vertical, and confined surfaces with limited tooling expense and kinematic complexity. To evaluate this printhead concept and its coupling with ink materials, seven substrate–printhead configurations are characterized for a conductive nanoparticle ink and a dielectric polymer formulation. Controlled experiments reveal distinct physical regimes for the two inks, with the colloidal ink and polymer resin driven primarily by aerosol‐phase and liquid‐phase phenomena, respectively. This is quantitatively supported by feature importance analysis of random forest models, showcasing a generalizable framework to analyze complex process science experiments. Finally, the practical utility of this modular printhead design is highlighted with two demonstrations: nonplanar interconnects spanning horizontal and vertical surfaces, and patterning on the interior surface of a cylinder. These results establish physical design principles for angled‐nozzle deposition and introduce a practical, modular hardware strategy to broaden the geometric capabilities of aerosol jet printing with limited additional system complexity.