Limitations and trade-offs associated with conventional materials (metals, polymers, composites, etc.) impact all aspects of manufacturing, from cost to performance. Making new materials is usually accomplished through chemistry, which is hard, expensive, and slow. We need a better way to produce new materials.
Enter metamaterial composites. Since new geometries – not new molecules – are being created, the time and cost to demonstrate a performance improvement are much lower. Metamaterial composites also allow multiple enhanced characteristics to be applied to the base material, depending on the geometry. And base, raw materials are easily sourced – no need for costly supply chain modifications.
Metamaterial composites are compatible with traditional manufacturing methods, such as injection molding, thermoforming, casting, milling, and roll-to-roll pattern transfer, which allows for easy mass production and supply chain integration.
