InteliSpark client, TCPoly, Inc., wins a phase I SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant from NSF (National Science Foundation) to develop thermally conductive 3D printing materials for cooling of high-performance electronic devices.
Overheating of compact, energy-dense electronic devices is a growing challenge that results in poor performance and device failure, particularly in the transportation and energy related technologies industries. Standard thermally conductive plastic composites tend to have poor mechanical properties, are high in costs, are unable to 3D print reliably, and have limited thermal conductivity. Dr. Thomas Bougher, Co-Founder and CTO at the start-up TCPoly, will lead a team of researchers in developing 3D printing composite materials that will conduct heat 1000 times higher than standard plastics and will have the ability to be printed on low cost 3D printers.
This project may aid in the creation of a new market for lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and high-performance heat transfer technologies that can significantly increase the performance of electronic devices. Drs. Matt Smith and Thomas Bougher, Co-Founders of TCPoly, were conducting materials research as PhD students at Georgia Tech before launching their start-up in 2017 to develop their novel materials for 3D printing.