Chemicals & Process Industry
PRINTED ELECTRONICS PUT TO THE TEST
Henkel built a kit for printed electronics that lets you test sensor ideas quickly.
Project / Client
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA is active in adhesive technologies and manufactures, among other things, adhesives and materials for electronics manufacturing.
In 2023, Henkel presented the Sensor INKxperience Kit, a tool for IoT sensor engineering with printed electronics. IOX was one of the companies that tested the kit in user trials before its market launch.
The Situation
Anyone who wanted to build a first sensor prototype usually needed their own circuit board. That cost time and money – and often it was not clear beforehand whether the idea would work at all.
With printed electronics, Henkel wanted to offer a faster route to a first working sensor. Before the market launch, Henkel therefore had the kit tested by several companies from the field, including IOX.
The Key Question
Can printed electronics test a sensor idea so quickly that developing a custom circuit board upfront becomes unnecessary?
This is not a question that can be answered at a desk. It takes engineers who get their hands on the kit and try it out on a real application.
What We Built
PRODUCT: The Sensor INKxperience Kit was tested – a tool for quick proofs of concept with printed electronics. Instead of a custom circuit board, it uses printed sensor structures that can be connected directly to evaluation electronics.
TEAM: Sergey Schaal works in electronics development at IOX. He tested the kit on behalf of Henkel and provided feedback.
The Result
The Sensor INKxperience Kit launched in February 2023, initially focusing on the European market. IOX was one of the IoT development partners that tested it in advance.
Getting started with a sensor idea works better. With the kit, a first proof of concept no longer requires custom circuit board development.
It enabled a collaboration that Henkel itself made public. In its press release on the market launch, Henkel names IOX as an IoT development partner.
2023
market launch of the Sensor INKxperience Kit, initially in Europe
“We are pleased to have been selected as a development partner by Henkel for the user tests of the INKxperience Kit. The kit makes it very easy to get a feeling for how printed electronics technology works and enables fast proof of concept validating the technology for a new sensor application.”