Will Graphene Filament Revolutionize 3D Printing?

I've been hearing a ton about Graphene lately. Graphene, for those of you that are unfamiliar with it is a super strong material which is made of bonded carbon atoms only 1 atom thick. It is basically 1 atom thick graphite. It's light, extremely strong and nearly transparent. (more information on Graphene can be found on wikipedia).

Apparently a new company has been founded called Graphene 3D Labs Inc. Their goal is to make high performance graphene enhanced materials for 3D Printing.

What do you think this could mean for 3D Printing?

Imagine Graphene filament. The possibilities are endless!

More information about the formation of this new company at: http://www.metal-powder.net/view/358...h-graphene-am/

If they can pull off 3D Printing Graphene cheaply, it will be one of the more important technological feats this decade. Graphene literally has thousands of possible uses that could change just about every industry there is. It's a super material.

Nano materials are invading the 3D printing industry, it may make a jump between printing in plastic filaments and complex 3D metal printing.

So far I have not heard of them even being able to reliably produce graphene of any length, and the cost would be VERY high. Look at the cost of carbon fiber, that has a higher likelihood of being incorporated into a filament. Actually a person MIGHT be able to laminate some carbon fiber into say some polycarbonate filament, then extrude it. It would need to be a lager orifice diameter, and bond strength would be the limiting factor. Still that might be the area a person might want to look at.

Yeah, they have been talking about Graphene for a while and how much it will revolutionize just about every industry out there, however, in order to make just a tiny amount it takes a ton of work. It may be years before Graphene is actually a material that can be of any use, and then years further before it can be used within 3D Printers. I am an optimist when it comes to future tech, but Graphene seems to be one of those things that has been a disappointment.