Electrified plastic for printers

Plastic has always been known as a great insulator. But a US company has developed a plastic filament for 3D printers that can conduct electricity

Plastic is used as insulation in electrical fittings because it is a poor conductor of electricity, right? Of course, that is school science drilled into all exam-weary brains. But wait a second, what is this we are hearing about plastic filaments that conduct electricity! Isn't this radical?

It is. And the credit goes to Mike Toutonghi, founder, CEO and chief scientist of Functionalize, a company that is focused on creating breakthrough 3D printing materials and technologies. With 3D printers being used increasingly both by hobbyists and industries, there was a need to come up with conductive raw material for these devices. Toutonghi has developed what he has named Functionalize F-Electric, a plastic filament that can conduct electricity. It is not entirely conductive like metallic cables, but it is a thousand times more conductive than any filament available today.

"Imagine a world where you can 3D-print your cell phone, a drone, or the latest in wearable electronics, complete with circuits and electrical components," says Toutonghi in a statement. "That's where we're going, and our F-Electric filament is a major step forward in making this a reality. Using our nanomaterials and processes, we'll have the chance to invent all sorts of new, functional materials that makers need to launch their designs and prototypes."

3D printers create objects by injecting layer upon layer of plastic, much like a dot-matrix printer of yore printed text. It uses colours and different types of plastic to achieve different looks and texture. However, to make these objects electronically functional, the users require a separate process to add electrical components like wires, or even a circuit board.

While there have been some advancements in non-metallic conductive materials, the plastic commonly used on 3D printers had never been experimented with. In any case, these plastics had never exhibited enough conductivity to even light a small LED bulb. F-Electric is the most electrically conductive plastic and has a resistance of under 1 ohm/cm, compared to the 1,000 - 10,000 ohms/cm range of existing filaments. It enables a home printer to print electronic circuits, wires, sensors, power connectors and related electrical components into their projects.
"By allowing electrical circuits to be part of the 3D design and build process, there are endless possibilities for what can be built," the statement quotes Matt Johnson, programme director at intentional3D Inc, a 3D services company. "We see numerous applications across many industries and think Functionalize has just begun to scratch the surface of possibilities."

Toutonghi, a former software start-up investor, started working on the filament on his 50th birthday when he and his son had to work on a rocket propulsion project for a school science fair. The designing of the prototype was easy enough, but he had to use his soldering iron continually to make the rocket electronically compliant. Searching for an easier way, he was surprised to find that there were no 3D printer that would let him print electronic circuits into the plastic components.

"From that day forward, creating conductive material became his obsession and he immersed himself in scientific literature and built a nanotechnology lab in his house," says the company. After years of experimenting with graphene, metal and plastic nano composites, he developed F-Electric that can be used with existing 3D printers.

Toutonghi has now launched a campaign on Kickstarter, the world's largest funding platform for creative projects, to raise funds that will enable Functionalize to "create new materials, collaborate to overcome limitations related to 3D printing, raise funds for the production of Functionalize materials, as well as equipment to increase production capacity", according to the statement. More importantly, it is looking at $100,000 to set up a production facility to bring F-Electric to the market.