Three young people, who started their entrepreneurship activities while they were students at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), are offering the domestic electronic circuit board production machine they developed for sale in the country, while aiming to expand into the European market in the coming period. Kaan Yapıcı, Ömer Faruk Güleç and Yaren Özdemir, who came together in 2023 when they were studying at ITU, started working on the production of circuit boards, one of the basic components of electronic devices, with domestic resources.
Three entrepreneurs, who launched their ventures in 2024 after their graduation, continue to develop and produce machines used in electronic circuit board production in the company they established within Teknopark Istanbul. The domestic production machine, which is currently offered for sale in the domestic market, is aimed to be opened to the foreign market in the future. Kaan Yapıcı, one of the entrepreneurs, stated that they received support from TÜBİTAK, İTÜ ARI Teknokent and Information Commercialization Center (BTM) during the development process of the project, and stated that they turned to alternative technologies due to the problems experienced in circuit board production with classical methods and therefore focused on the “additive electronics method”.
As a result of the studies, they developed a domestic device that can produce electronic circuit boards and flexible electronics using 3D printer technology. Stating that circuit boards can be produced faster thanks to the developed device, Yapıcı said that circuit boards can be used in many areas from televisions to wearable devices, from mobile phones to small home appliances. Entrepreneur Kaan Yapıcı explained the working method of the device as follows: “The system we developed is an additive electronic production platform that works on the micro-dosing principle, unlike a 3D printer that creates a layer by melting filament in the classical sense.
The basic operating logic of the device is based on the controlled transfer of conductive or functional inks to the surface under certain pressure, speed and flow parameters. In this way, conductive paths on the circuit board are created by selectively transferring the material to the needed areas instead of chemical etching. Systems of foreign origin used for similar purposes often start from tens of thousands of euros and can go up to hundreds of thousands of euros depending on the feature level.
This makes access difficult, especially for universities, R&D laboratories, technology startups and SMEs.” Yapıcı stated that one of the most important advantages of the technology they developed is that it makes this technology more accessible by reducing costs and said, “Thanks to the mechanical design, electronic infrastructure, control system and software we developed locally, we can seriously reduce both the initial investment cost and maintenance, service and technical support costs.
When users buy an imported device, they have to bear not only the cost of the device, but also the cost of installation, training, spare parts, service, import, logistics and long waiting times. “When you develop a domestic system, you can manage a significant part of these items more quickly and economically.” he said. “We do not see this contribution only as ‘localization of a device’” Yapıcı explained that foreign dependency in electronics and circuit board production is not only an issue related to final product supply, but is also directly related to the production infrastructure in prototype development, testing, revision and R&D processes.
Yapıcı stated that although many institutions in Turkey have strong electronic design capabilities, the transformation of designed cards into physical prototypes often depends on external supply processes, imported equipment or long delivery times, and that this creates a significant time and cost pressure, especially in projects that require rapid development. Yapıcı stated that the technology they developed enables the production of circuit board and functional electronic prototypes in-house at this point, and said, “With the device, users can directly create their electronics by transferring conductive ink to the surface in a controlled manner.
Thus, instead of waiting for a prototype card from abroad for each design revision, a production infrastructure that can be tested on the same day in a laboratory environment is established.” he said. Emphasizing that the product is produced in Turkey with completely domestic resources, Yapıcı said, “We do not see this contribution merely as ‘localization of a device’. What is really important is to localize a critical step of the electronic development cycle.
Being able to control processes such as circuit design, material selection, surface compatibility, printing parameters, electrical performance within the institution enables the teams developing hardware in Turkey to learn faster and act more independently.” made his assessment. “Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and the United Kingdom are among the priority markets for us.” Yapıcı said that they started sales in the domestic market, that they have received requests mainly from R&D and education-oriented institutions in the domestic market so far, and that in the first stage, they introduced the product to universities, research centers and institutions carrying out technology development processes.
Stating that they are currently advancing their foreign sales and business development processes mainly through the European market, Yapıcı said, “Especially Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and the United Kingdom are among the priority markets for us. These countries have strong R&D infrastructures in both advanced production technologies and flexible electronics, sensors, material development and electronic prototyping.
Therefore, the rapid prototyping, material transfer to different surfaces and laboratory-scale electronic production capabilities offered by our company are appreciated in these markets.” he said. Regarding his goals for the future, Yapıcı said: “On the export side, our goal is to first carry this technology we developed in Turkey to the R&D and research ecosystem in Europe, and then spread it to different regions. Because here, it is not just a matter of hardware export, but also the opening of a domestically developed production technology and material processing capability to the international market.
The most critical point for us is to position our company as an accessible, flexible and R&D-oriented electronic production platform in the global market.” Explaining that they have seen that the perception of Turkish technology startups in the global market has changed positively in recent years, Yapıcı said, “Especially startups with high engineering power, products that work in the field, and the ability to develop not only software but also hardware are attracting more attention.
“In the institutions we interviewed in Europe, it is considered very valuable for a hardware startup from Turkey to be able to develop its own mechanical design, electronic infrastructure, software and material processes together.” he said. Noting that it takes time to develop hardware and deep technology, Yapıcı said, “Making mistakes, trying again, not finding materials, and having problems in production are natural parts of this process.
However, there is a very serious potential to produce technology in Turkey. In order for this potential to turn into a real product, young engineers need to be more involved not only in consuming but also in designing, testing and producing.” he said. Source: AA
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