14 DAY TRIAL // Graphene continues to be the main wonder material expected to usher in a new age of technology. Obviously, the 3D printing industry wasn't about to disregard it. Which leads us to today's update on Grafoid's activities.
Grafoid is a Canadian company that began working on a 3D printing filament made of graphene some time ago. It wanted to help more easily mass produce the material, as well as make it easier for it to be employed in all fields of research.
It just so happens that Grafoid has just opened its production facilities in Kingston, Ontario, where Mesograf will be mass produced. That is the name that Grafoid has chosen for the graphene filament.
Mesograf will also be available in powder form though, since there are many 3D printers that employ it, particularly SLS ones (Selective laser sintering).
It's hard to say just where things will go from here. Graphene is considered the no longer missing link between this stage of technological evolution and the next.
It is supposed not only to enable superconductors, of sorts, but also to produce stronger cases and hulls for everything from consumer electronics to aircraft and spaceships.
Graphene-based superchips are expected to birth a new generation of supercomputers, while special arrangements of the hexagonal carbon sheets will enable stronger, longer-lasting buildings and vehicles.
Obviously, 3D printing can't be used to make processors, or any sophisticated electronics really, for the most part. Items with conductive capabilities should be possible, though.
That's not something that Grafoid will guide the world towards alone, however. The company will to provide the raw materials for now. Scientists from around the world will, in the meantime, have to come up with ways to make the best of it.
Then again, the set of facilities that Grafoid has opened is called the Innovation Park and includes production facilities, research and development laboratories, and areas where the material can be tested. More importantly, some engineering and product development labs exist as well.
The whole “campus” takes up 225,000 square feet / 20,900 square meters, which is a lot. 160 high-profile professional jobs are expected to be filled, according to Gary Economo, Grafoid’s chief executive officer and founding partner.
The next order of business will be to raise another $50 million / €38 million for further product development, and perhaps some acquisitions of smaller 3D printing and science firms.
You can see a general outline of the new grafoid R&D and manufacturing campus in the video embedded below.