Printech is a manufacturer of specialist printed circuit boards. The company prides itself in being able to manufacture anything that is different. Its products are used in all market sectors, but predominantly for space applications.

Recent innovations the company has developed are ‘bump’ selective plating up to 250μm and the manufacture of ‘formed’ antennas/ filters that can be intimately placed around a product.

Printech not only processes established circuit board materials, but also composites, foams and LCP shaped products.

Printech participated on the European Space Agency (ESA) Gaia mission. The purpose of this mission is to compile a 3D catalogue of astronomical objects in our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The mapping of the Galaxy contributes to a deeper understanding of its constitution and evolution as well as potentially uncovering unknown astronomical objects like new planets or constellations. Data gathered from the Gaia satellite will constitute the most accurate catalogue of stars ever achieved.

One of Printech partners, E2V, was contracted to build CCD Detectors for the Gaia spaceship. The CCD detectors form a highly accurate focal plane, this camera can image UV, visible and infrared light. Printech provided the specialist flexible circuits which contributed to the precision and power of the digital camera. The bump plated flexible circuits assisted in reducing the size of the focal plane of the camera, enabling it to be to fit on a smaller satellite.