The materials market for 3D printing is turning into a hotbed for innovation. More than likely the material science behind 3D printing will be just as, if not more important than the 3D printing technology itself. There are already dozens of different types of filament that one can print with. There are the pure plastics like ABS and PLA, but then there are plastics infused with other materials, that give prints unique looks and feels.
One company, which is a division of Global Polymer Group, has come out with some pretty incredible filaments. The company, located in Byron Center, Michigan, has recently begun selling carbon nanotube (CNT) composite filament. That’s right, you can now 3D print objects made out of a material which has actual CNTs within it. Carbon nanotubes are the incredibly strong, light weight, highly conductive tubes, which are made of only carbon atoms. Basically if you were to take a sheet of graphene, roll it up, and connect the ends, you would have a carbon nanotube. Global Polymer Group’s ESD carbon nanotube filament, called 3DXNano™, is targeted towards the automobile, and semiconductor industries. Carbon nanotubes, by themselves are extremely strong, however composites don’t translate into strength, as polymers won’t bond to the carbon atoms in the nanotubes.
