Conductive filaments from ABS/PLA and graphene composites

[Wolfie]

We will be working on the conductive ABS/copper filament at Zzyzx Polymers in the near future. Would anyone like to be notified as to its progress when it becomes available?

Hell yes! The entire community I suspect would love to know

I would love to as well. And if you need someone to alpha/beta test it, well drop me a pm and we can swap some contact info.

[GOC]

We will be working on the conductive ABS/copper filament at Zzyzx Polymers in the near future. Would anyone like to be notified as to its progress when it becomes available?

- Count me in as well; I'm all about testing too, so if you get some beta/alpha samples just let me know and I'll whip up some circuits to give it a full benchmark & report. Either way you can put me down for a spool whenever its available, just reply to this thread or send me a PM.

[cverni13]

Great! I will keep you all posted. Would anyone be interested in purchasing the ABS/graphene or PLA/graphene filaments that we will also be producing?

[GOC]

Great! I will keep you all posted. Would anyone be interested in purchasing the ABS/graphene or PLA/graphene filaments that we will also be producing?

- Whats the conductivity/resistance rating? (ie: 100 ohm per sq cm)
- So far the resistance has been too high in a lot of the 'conductive' filaments out there for any of my practical applications

[cverni13]

I will get back to you on that.

[Wolfie]

Great! I will keep you all posted. Would anyone be interested in purchasing the ABS/graphene or PLA/graphene filaments that we will also be producing?

- Whats the conductivity/resistance rating? (ie: 100 ohm per sq cm)
- So far the resistance has been too high in a lot of the 'conductive' filaments out there for any of my practical applications

I am in the same boat. In researching a printer, I had dug into the conductive filaments and quickly found their resistance was way too high for any serious use other than static shielding. We need signal level lines that are capable of carrying low voltages at least a reasonable distance (feet, not inches). A dream would be able to carry audio line level signals (think headsets, speakers and microphones) as well as transducers in toys or miniature figures (dioramas). You get that done and you open up 3D printing to whole new industries that are currently resigned to simply making the shells of products and still have to wire them with traditional components. And you know where this leads don't you? Printable personal electronics. You want a market, well, there is one.

Another (more domestic) example would be in a train diorama where there is a conductor at a crossing holding a lantern. We could get a pixie bulb or white led soldered in the lantern in his hand, but we need a way to get the power through his body to his feet where it could be powered from below. Perfect job for some conductive material and 3D printing. We need soldering pads in the lamp and a conductive low resistance path through his body to his feet, again with solder pads to connect wires to. Pull that off, and I bet you get a lot of friends in the model train community as well as the military diorama community

Even though the 3D printing genre has been around for a number of years, as a technology, its barely out of its crib. Speed, accuracy and material selections are rife with opportunity to someone with the skill and the background to bring something to market.

And, BTW, I wasn't kidding about the desire for a tritium laced filament in the other thread.

[GOC]

...And, BTW, I wasn't kidding about the desire for a tritium laced filament in the other thread.

- Very intriguing, but that would be one expensive roll of filament. Lots of regulations, precautions, & dangers with tritium.

- To any chemists out there: Would tritium infused filament release any radioactivity during the high temperatures of the extrusion process?

[anannop]

We will be working on the conductive ABS/copper filament at Zzyzx Polymers in the near future. Would anyone like to be notified as to its progress when it becomes available?

Is it possible to add a newsletter on your website ?

[Wolfie]

- Very intriguing, but that would be one expensive roll of filament. Lots of regulations, precautions, & dangers with tritium.

- To any chemists out there: Would tritium infused filament release any radioactivity during the high temperatures of the extrusion process?

Yea, lots of regulations. And hazards.

But...
http://www.banggood.com/5x100mm-Trit...FQKTaQoda0oA7w
http://www.tawatec.com/
http://www.dudeiwantthat.com/style/d...-keychains.asp
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sho...and-rare-items
http://www.truglo.com/firearms-handg...gun-sights.asp

So, people are using the stuff in commercial products.

[LambdaFF]

Hi, cverny I would be interested too to be kept in the loop of whatever conductive filament you come up with. Solderable would be insanely interesting but high conductivity would be a great start.

@Wolfie : tritium is mostly dangerous when gaseous (radioactive stuff in your lungs is a definite no go). The problem is also that tritium by itself is not light-emitting. It is the gamma rays hitting phosphorus that actually emit light. So you need a process that ensures the proper amount of both in close vicinity. I'm guessing filament containing tritium is not for tommorrow... on sale. With desktop filament extruders however, nothing stops you from experimenting. Buy a vial or too and drop them in the vat when extruding filament. Don't misunderstand me though : I still think it is a very bad and very dangerous idea to try at home.