Research & Development
For the interface that doesn't exist yet
Research & Development
ALMAX develops materials, inks, constructions, and processes for stretchable, in-mold, hybrid, and printed electronics — then moves what works onto the same production floor that builds our keypads. R&D here is not a lab that hands off; it is the front end of a factory.
ISO 9001:2015 · ISO 13485 · IATF 16949 · 100% ALMAX-owned manufacturing
What we develop
| Area | What it is | Where it goes |
| Stretchable circuits | Conductive traces printed on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that survive repeated 20–50% strain, with the mechanics designed so the ink stretches with the substrate rather than against it | Wearables, medical patches, soft robotics, garments, curved interiors |
| In-mold electronics (IME / IMSE) | Circuits and sensors printed on film, then formed and back-molded into a single structural part — the electronics become the housing | Automotive interiors, appliance panels, curved and sculpted controls |
| Hybrid electronics (FHE) | Print what you can — traces, sensors, antennas, heaters — and place what you can’t: controllers, LEDs, batteries — including conductive-adhesive attach for heat-sensitive substrates | Smart labels, wearables, thin single-board devices |
| Printed components | Heaters, antennas, resistors, batteries, displays, and solar cells produced by screen printing | Thermal management, RFID/NFC, energy harvesting, low-power indication |
| Printed sensors & electrodes | Touch, force, strain, humidity, temperature, and biomedical electrodes (Ag/AgCl, glucose, and related electrochemical constructions) | Medical wearables, diagnostics, fitness, structural monitoring |
| Transparent conductors | PEDOT and related transparent conductive layers for see-through touch and heating | Displays, windows, lenses |
| E-textiles | Conductive constructions integrated into fabric, with washing and flex life as the test | Garments, seating, soft goods |
| Interface constructions | New tactile, rotary, and touch mechanisms — the line of work that produced SnapMax®, MaxRotor®, and SensTouch® | Any keypad or interface program |
How an R&D program runs
R&D at ALMAX runs in gates. You can stop at any gate with a report, a proven coupon, or a working prototype in hand.
- Feasibility (NDA first). A question with a number in it — “can a printed heater hold 40 °C on a curved 2 mm polycarbonate at 12 V?” — and a written answer: yes, no, or what it would take. Deliverable: a feasibility memo with the material shortlist and the risk list.
- Materials and process development. Ink, substrate, adhesive, and encapsulant screened together — a stretchable ink is only as good as the TPU and the encapsulant it is married to. Deliverable: coupons with data: resistance vs. strain, cycle life, adhesion, environmental exposure.
- Prototype. A working part from the same screen printers, laminators, and SMT lines that run production. Deliverable: prototypes plus test data and a preliminary drawing.
- Pilot and process lock. A pilot run to establish yield and tolerance; drawings and process sheets frozen. Deliverable: production-intent samples with a capability statement.
- Production. The construction moves onto the floor — sheet-fed or roll-to-roll — and, when the run rate is known, into Rapid Inventory® for U.S. stock.
What makes ALMAX R&D different — with the trade-offs
- The lab is the factory. Development runs on production equipment in ALMAX’s own factory: screen-printing stations including fully automatic CCD-registered lines, roll-to-roll printing lines, SMT lines, injection and compression molding, thermoforming, and a quality lab with force, electrical, environmental, and dimensional test. A construction that works here is already on the equipment that will build it. Trade-off: we develop what the floor can make; a process we would have to outsource is one we tell you about early.
- Materials qualified, not just tried. Every substrate, ink, and adhesive that reaches a prototype is logged in a materials library with the data behind it. Trade-off: a brand-new material takes a qualification cycle before it goes on a customer part.
- Twenty-plus years of interface constructions. The stretchable and in-mold work stands on decades of membrane, silicone, and capacitive keypad production. Stretch mechanics are keypad mechanics with a different substrate.
- Certified from the first coupon. Coupons, prototypes, and pilots are built in ALMAX’s own factory, inside the same ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485 quality systems as production — the same material control, inspection, and traceability from the first coupon to the production part.
- Numbers or nothing. Every gate ends with data, not a rendering.
Applications (anonymized examples)
- Medical wearable. A stretchable sensing patch on TPU with printed Ag/AgCl electrodes and a placed controller, developed through gates 1–4 to production-intent samples.
- Curved appliance control. A printed capacitive sensor and backlight film formed and back-molded into one structural bezel — no separate keypad, no adhesive line to fail.
- Printed heater. A screen-printed heater on film for a curved enclosure, replacing a wound-wire element with a thinner, conformal part.
- Instrument control redesign. A slider and indicator interface re-engineered from discrete parts into a single printed-and-placed assembly with firmware.
FAQ’s
Do you do R&D for outside companies, or only for your own products?
For customers, first. ALMAX develops constructions to your requirement; internal development exists so that the next customer starts further ahead.
Can you work with our university or research partner?
Yes — we routinely take a construction from a research demonstration to a manufacturable part; that transfer is most of the work.
What can’t printed electronics do?
Carry power. Printed silver is a signal-level medium — under 50 mA and 1.5 W per trace. Power routes to copper flex or a PCB; we design the boundary between them.
How long does a feasibility study take?
It depends on the study. A question we can answer from the materials library and existing test data comes back as a memo; one that needs coupons printed, cured, and tested takes longer. We set the timeline when we scope the question.