• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Additive Manufacturing (AM)

Additive Manufacturing (AM)

AM showcases the latest technology and industry developments with in-depth case studies, resources, interviews with experts and events.

    • CHANNEL
      • Aerospace
      • Automotive
      • Energy
      • Medical
      • Innovation
    • TOPICS
      • Design
      • Management
      • Materials
      • Post Processing
      • Processes
      • Quality Management Systems
      • Regulatory & Standards
      • Software
      • Workforce Development
    • NEWS
    • EVENTS
      • Conferences
      • Virtual Events
      • Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • On-Demand
      • Add Your Event
    • MEDIA
      • AM News LIVE
      • AM Voices
      • Podcast
      • Video
    • RESOURCES

    ProtoPlant-Creating Exotic Filaments For Affordable Desktop Printers

    ProtoPasta Conductive Filament (Photo courtesy of ProtoPlant)

     

    ProtoPlant, located in Vancouver, Washington, manufactures high performance filament for the desktop 3D printer consumer market. In late 2013, ProtoPlant launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund development of a brand of 3D printer filament called ProtoPasta. Over the course of a year, the company has released six materials including Carbon Fiber PLA, High Temperature PLA, PC-ABS, Stainless Steel PLA, Magnetic Iron PLA and Conductive PLA.

    We caught up with Dustin Cram, P.E and ProtoPlant founder, and Alex Dick, ProtoPlant’s mechanical engineer to learn more about the company and ProtoPasta in an exclusive AMazing® Q&A session.

    ———————————————

    AMazing®: Gentlemen thank you for your participation. As we understand ProtoPlant manufactures high performance filament called ProtoPasta for use in consumer 3D printers. What market niche does ProtoPasta fill and what distinguishes ProtoPasta from other 3D printer filament on the market?

    Dustin: We specialize in the development and production of exotic 3D printer filaments. Protopasta products blend exotic materials – like chopped carbon fiber or powered iron – with a plastic base to create specialty filaments that are useable by affordable desktop printers.

    AMazing®: We understand the company launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 to establish a brand of filament. How important was the Kickstarter campaign to the development of the ProtoPasta brand?

    Dustin: The Kickstarter was critical to the founding of Proto-pasta. Not only did it provide the start up capitol, it also gave us a base of loyal customers and introduced us to a worldwide community of 3D printing enthusiasts.

    ProtoPlant's ProtoPasta filament  (Photo courtesy of ProtoPasta)
    ProtoPasta Filaments: Conductive PLA, Stainless Steel PLA, PC-ABS  (Photo courtesy of ProtoPlant)

    AMazing®: As a material manufacturer for the desktop consumer market, what trends are shaping up this year?

    Alex: There’s definitely a lot happening on the material side; people are getting tired of printing trinkets in colored plastic – they want to be able to make more and DO more with their 3D printers. We’ve been leading the way when it comes to proving what is possible with 3D printing. There are many more possibilities for materials which are both functional and beautiful; and we’ll be seeing many of them this year.

    Dustin: And new materials encourage more people to get into 3D printing. During CES we had plenty of people come up to our booth, see heavy, polished prints made of our stainless steel filament and exclaim, “I never wanted a 3D printer… until now.” Exotic materials open up a new world of applications for this technology.

    AMazing®: The company has released six materials including Carbon Fiber PLA, High Temperature PLA, PC-ABS, Stainless Steel PLA, Magnetic Iron PLA and Conductive PLA. What are some applications for Conductive PLA? Are there any new products on the horizon?

    Dustin: Our Conductive PLA offers 15 ohm-cm resistivity, which is enough for low voltage and touch capacitive sensors. Really anything that uses touch, like controllers, sensors, or a stylus for your touch screen, are great applications, as well as simple circuitry projects like lighting up LEDs.

    Alex: As far as new products are concerned, we have a long list of filaments we’d love to develop. You’ll have to wait and see what we are working on.

    ProtoPlant Facility  (Photo courtesy of ProtoPlant)
    ProtoPasta Filament Production  (Photo courtesy of ProtoPlant)

    AMazing®: Shifting gears to education, what advice would you have for anyone interested in becoming involved in the 3D Printing industry?

    Dustin – 3D printing is changing every day and there are many ways to become involved. The easiest is to simply start using the technology, whether at home or through your business, and it will soon lead to many opportunities in your local community.

    AMazing®: Finally, how will ProtoPlant evolve over the next few years? What do you hope to see?

    Dustin: We hope to continue supplying users with the most advanced and interesting 3D printing materials on the market. Our plan is to do this by reinvesting our resources into R&D and continuing to create new materials and applications.

    This concludes our interview. Gentlemen, thank you very much for your participation. We are very grateful for the opportunity to learn about ProtoPlant and ProtoPasta products.

    ———————————————

    About Dustin Cram, Founder:
    Dustin Cram is the founder of ProtoPlant and a licensed Professional Engineer. He is co-inventor on several patents, has hardware he designed and built for the Solar Dynamics Observatory, currently flying in space, created and built the Proto-pasta extrusion machinery and is passionate about design and manufacturing.

    About Alex Dick, 3D Engineer:
    Alex Dick has been working in 3D printing for over 10 years and brings industry-specific experience to the Proto-pasta team. A mechanical engineer specializing in laser sintering technology, Alex has a deep technical understanding of additive techniques and the individuals, communities, and businesses that can use them.

    About ProtoPlant
    Proto-pasta is manufactured at ProtoPlant, a small mechanical engineering firm founded in 2008 and located in Vancouver, Washington, USA. The company specializes in 3D printing innovation and mechanical design for aerospace, scientific, and manufacturing Industries.

    ProtoPlant
    5601 E. 18th St.
    Vancouver, WA 98661 USA
    5 0 3 – 8 7 7 – 5 2 6 8

    Contact
    Dustin Cram
    [email protected]
    Community Outreach
    ProtoPlant /Proto-pasta

    Republication or redistribution of AMazing content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AMazing. AMazing® is a registered trademark.

    related /

  • Desktop Metal Welcomes X-Series Line of Additive Manufacturing Systems for Metal and Ceramics into Growing Portfolio
  • Nexa3D XIP3 Bringing Industrial Additive Manufacturing to the Desktop
  • Filed Under: News, Q&A

    Primary Sidebar

    events /

    upcoming webinars /

    • There are no upcoming events.

    on demand /

    • SOLIDWORKS Certification Tips and Tricks

      January 24 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm EST
    • Is there really a use for additive manufacturing in commercial vehicles?

      December 7, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST
    • Development of Metal Additive Manufacturing for Naval Shipbuilding

      December 1, 2022 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST

    Footer

    AM-logo_RGB_500_white

    With dozens of innovative products, materials, software, and applications being launched constantly, you can rely on AdditiveManufacturing.com to keep you ahead of the curve.

    stay connected /

    recent /

    • Watch On-Demand: AM News LIVE: EP22 – Anne Pauley & Michael Molitch-Hou – CES, TIPE, AMS – Monday, January 23rd 2023
    • Workforce and Leadership: AM News Roundup for January 9-20, 2023
    • Dennis Fehr, Seasoned Financial Executive Joins 6K as Chief Financial Officer and Rob Davies, Manufacturing Expert, Joins 6K Energy as Chief Operating Officer
    • BIRD – Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial R&D Foundation to invest $8.4 million in 9 new projects
    • Epredia and Aiforia Join RegenMed Hub Innovation Accelerator, Expanding PHC Group Presence in Regenerative Medicine
    • IperionX Wins U.S. Air Force Titanium Recycling Challenge
    • Essentium Expands Global Executive Leadership
    • Student Team Uses Micro Metal 3D Printing for Microgravity Experiment

    topics /

    • Applications
    • Design
    • Materials
    • Post Processing
    • Processes
    • Quality Management Systems
    • Regulatory & Standards
    • Software

    media /

    • Watch On-Demand: AM News LIVE: EP22 – Anne Pauley & Michael Molitch-Hou – CES, TIPE, AMS – Monday, January 23rd 2023
    • AM Materials Chat: 6K onsite at Formnext 2022 – AM Voices Podcast – Frank Roberts, President of 6K Additive
    • Watch On-Demand: AM News LIVE: EP21 – Sintavia – Brian R. Neff – Monday, January 9th 2023
    • Formnext 2022 flashback: Uniformity Labs, CEO Adam Hopkins on LPBF materials for 3D printing
    • AM Materials Chat: Uniformity Labs onsite at Incodema3D – AM Voices video podcast – Adam Hopkins, CEO at Uniformity Labs
    • AM Materials Chat: Elementum3D onsite at Incodema3D for AM Voices video podcast
    • AM Video Interview: Dr. Jason Rolland, SVP of Materials at Carbon
    • Watch On-Demand: AM News LIVE, EP20 – End Of Year Episode – 2022 Review with Friends

    Copyright © 2023 Metrix Connect, LLC

    • Advertise
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Code of Conduct
    • Contact