Canadian team wins James Dyson Award

For the first time a Canadian team won the international James Dyson Award. Four engineering students from the University of Waterloo—Jesus Zozaya, Alroy Ameida, James Pickard, and Katarina Ilic—made the Voltera V-One, a laptop-sized printed circuit board (PCB) printer to help SMEs and startups bring new tech into the market without the unnecessary expense that comes with having to develop new electronics. The machine makes prototype PCBs using the principles that underpin 3D printing.

Describing the process, the Voltera V-One lays down conductive and insulating inks to create a functional, two-layer circuit board. The machine also has a solder paste dispenser to allow components to be added to the board and it’s then reflowed by a 550w heater. As winners of the James Dyson Award, the team takes home $54,000 to further develop the idea.