S3D Innovations brings soy to the filament table and plans to become a permanent fixture in the industry after winning the top prize in the 2014 Student Soybean Product Innovation Contest sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance. FilaSoy, the coined term for the new PLA filament, promises to be a viable option for biodegradable 3D printing. As new waves of 3D printers hit the market and prices inevitably drop, new innovations will spawn out of the elements putting the prints together. S3D Innovations looked to one of the main components of FFF 3D printing — filament. With the advent of FilaSoy, S3D presents a new brand of thermoplastic that will improve upon concerns with biodegradable PLA and add a greener characteristic.
Thermoplastics typically made out of polylactic acid (PLA) from products like corn starch, tapioca root, and sugar cane are renewable. It is claimed that FilaSoy is completely renewable and recyclable, therefore making it the greenest filament available. Besides its environmental conscience, FilaSoy has a lower heating temperature thereby creating a more durable print. The same quality also reduces the energy required to produce prints. With no loss in production value and absolute renewability, S3D Innovations is seeking to establish FilaSoy as an obvious choice for thermoplastic filament. Reduction in brittleness has become a reoccurring concern with biopolymers, and FilaSoy heeds the call. Finally, the anti-microbial properties found in soy can be reassuring for toy manufacturing and other objects coming in contact with children and other environments with pigeon-like levels of germs.
What S3D ultimately offers is reassurance that individuals and companies in the industry continue to improve key elements of 3D printing not simply for profit margins, but for the greater good. As cynical as such a phrase sounds in today’s market when so many products exploiting people and the environment make claims to be green or act to improve the quality of life, it rings genuine from the heart of S3D. It starts as an alternative, something like FilaSoy, and slowly it becomes the most practical and viable option. It is in products like FilaSoy that we find the spirit and integrity forged through assiduous research and hard work that needs to continue as 3D printing blossoms as an industry.
Source: S3D Innovations
