Patent attributes
Methods of forming multimaterial fibers via a thermal drawing process used to produce fibers with controlled compositions and alignments. The multimaterial fibers are usable as feedstock for additive manufacturing printing, as well as other applications that require elongated fibers with improved physical characteristics. The multimaterial fibers are formed from a mixture of low dimensional materials (LDM's), such as metal nanoparticles, and thermoplastic matrices. During fabrication of the fibers, a composite of LDM's and thermoplastics is heated and experiences a pulling force on one end in a direction away from an opposing end, thereby drawing the composite into an elongated fiber. The fiber includes a set of physical properties determined by the LDM's, and is usable as a filament across various applications.
