Graphene boosts toughness of US-built aerospace 3D printer parts by 50%

Lyten, a developer of advanced materials, has partnered with Modovolo, a US-based 3D printer manufacturer, to enhance the capabilities of the BFP, a large-format 3D printing platform. This collaboration integrates Lyten's graphene-enhanced PA1205 filament, aiming to produce aerospace-grade parts that are both lighter and stronger. The BFP system is designed for aviation, industrial, motorsports, and defense applications, supporting domestic manufacturing and reducing reliance on overseas supply chains.

Modovolo initially created the BFP platform to address the lack of US-built 3D printers capable of producing aerospace-grade components efficiently. The modular and transportable system allows for the production of large, high-performance components closer to their point of use, meeting aerospace quality standards. Justin Call, CEO and co-founder of Modovolo, highlighted that Lyten's PA1205 filament was chosen after extensive testing due to its ability to produce stronger, lighter parts with superior print finish and speed.

The partnership focuses on Lyten's PA1205, a nylon-based filament enhanced with proprietary 3D Graphene technology. Lyten claims this material offers twice the X-Y tensile strength of comparable carbon fiber-based filaments, with 40% higher Z-axis tensile strength and 50% greater impact resistance. These properties make it ideal for lightweight structural parts where strength and consistency are essential.

Dan Cook, CEO and co-founder of Lyten, emphasized the company's goal to demonstrate that advanced manufacturing materials can be sourced and produced domestically without compromising performance. The collaboration with Modovolo has been ongoing for over a year, with the filament already used in manufacturing components for Modovolo's Lift Quadcopter-X drone. This successful application has encouraged Modovolo to expand the use of Lyten's filament into large-format manufacturing.

The BFP platform, combined with Lyten's advanced filament, supports distributed manufacturing of aviation and industrial-grade components. Lyten and Modovolo plan to showcase the integrated platform at various aerospace and motorsports events, including the Civil-Military Innovation Institute and Northern Strike exercises, later this year.