Graphene-enhanced PLA filaments for 3-D printing unveiled

12-Aug-16

Graphene enhanced Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) filaments for 3D printing applications have been unveiled. Haydale Composite Solutions (HCS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Haydale Graphene Industries PLC (HGI), are in a commercial collaboration with Filamentprint (UK) Ltd (a company specialising in the compounding and manufacture of thermoplastic filaments for 3D printing) and Fullerex Ltd (HGI's sales agent for its functionalised nano materials) to promote and sell the PLA.
3D printing enables designers to produce prototype components, models or actual components directly from a computer aided design ("CAD") on a computer without the need to manufacture moulds or tooling. The Graphene enhanced PLA filaments, available in 1.75mm and 2.85 mm diameters, have been trialled by a number of 3D printing companies who have reported a number of major benefits, including:

Excellent first layer adhesion and z axis strength retention
Major increase in speed of processing
Improved strength and stiffness
Better impact performance
Excellent print quality and surface finish
Improved dimensional accuracy
Compatibility with a broad range of printers and ease of use.

Commenting on the feedback, Gerry Boyce, Managing Director of HCS said; "We are very excited about the development of graphene enhanced Thermoplastic materials for 3D printing. These new materials offer so many benefits including the ability to make parts stiffer, stronger and faster! Speed of print has historically been a barrier to wide scale take up of 3D printing. In the future, the thought of making structural components direct from CAD excites us enormously."