B9Creations, Mechnano Collaborate on Carbon Nanotube-Enabled Materials

Global 3D printer manufacturer B9Creations has partnered with nanomaterial company Mechnano to expand its range of engineering photopolymer materials designed to take additive manufacturing (AM) into scaled production applications.

This partnership leverages B9Creations’ high-throughput, ultra-precision B9 Core Series 3D printers and Mechnano’s nanomaterials which are functionalized with carbon nanotubes to deliver high-value materials engineered for specific performance requirements, the company says.

“The decision to partner with Mechnano was a natural step in expanding B9Creations’ offering of production-ready additive manufacturing solutions,” says Shon Anderson, B9Creations CEO. “Mechnano’s engineering-grade materials are well-matched for the high throughput, precision and plug-and-play technology of the B9 Core Series systems to enable businesses to move from prototyping to production with ease.”

Mechnano’s proprietary technology, Mech^T, detangles and separates carbon nanotubes, then disperses them throughout AM materials without reclumping. The resulting discrete tubes can be tailored to specific performance requirements and deliver previously unattainable performance such as 50% increase in tensile strength, 200% increase in toughness or 850% increase in tear resistance, the company says.

In addition, Mech^T can be functionalized to add properties such as electrostatic discharge to existing resins.

“B9Creations’ high-resolution printers are an excellent complement to Mechnano’s Technology, Mech^T,” says Steven Lowder, Mechnano CEO and co-founder. “Working together, we will improve existing materials and create new resins to meet production applications’ needs.”

A global provider of agile AM solutions, B9Creations serves customers, dealers and strategic partners through hardware, software and material solutions for high-precision applications in health care, manufacturing, research, modelmaking, jewelry and more. B9Creations’ customers have printed 25-plus million parts on thousands of platforms in nearly 70 countries around the world.

Mechnano says it is the first company to fabricate parts with carbon nanotubes using vat photopolymerization systems to achieve static-dissipative properties or improve impact, tear resistance and tensile performance. Its technology is backed by over a decade of research and development and protected by over 100-plus issued and pending patents.