The “thinnest and strongest material known to man” is now available as a 3D printing filament.
Ferret reported on blackmagic3d.com’s 3D printer filament “infused” with graphene, which it notes is the “thinnest and strongest material known to man”. The PLA (polylactic acid) filament could open the “door to [the] next generation of electronic devices”, as it would allow for printing of a 3D object “along with its circuits”.
The filament contains conductive graphene, and “can be used with almost any” FDM (fused deposition modelling) 3D printer. The news site adds that the availability of the material “marks the beginning of a new chapter in 3D printing electronic devices on the desktop”, as the “conductive traces” making up circuits could be embedded from printing onwards.
One disadvantage is that “due to the mixing of graphene with PLA”, any circuits produced “are restricted to voltages of less than 12V, currents less than 100mA, and less than 50 degree Celcius temperatures”. Despite this, the material could still be used in “designs for LEDs, wearable electronics and custom electronic interfaces”, with the site surmising that it “could result in the creation of a new generation of [the] ‘Internet of Things”.
It concluded that consumers could “quickly print out custom electronic devices and interfaces for their personal needs”, while “makers and tinkerers” could use it to “create custom wearable devices”. Finally, its physical strength allows 3D printers to “create exceptionally strong parts like attachments, connections and tooling parts”.