{"id":578,"date":"2015-07-14T22:01:13","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T22:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cannachronicle.com\/?p=578"},"modified":"2015-07-14T22:01:13","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T22:01:13","slug":"future-jobs-in-the-marijuana-indusrty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannachronicle.com\/2015\/07\/14\/future-jobs-in-the-marijuana-indusrty\/","title":{"rendered":"Future Jobs in the Marijuana Indusrty"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Hemp 3-D Printing Is Creating Environmentally Safe Fabrication<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

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Cannabis remains a constant in the 24 hour news cycle. \u00a0Whether it has been the use of marijuana for medical purposes or for recreational use, there has been much political debate lately over whether or not it should be legalized. \u00a0No matter what side of the argument you stand on, it\u2019s pretty safe to say that when it comes to hemp use, the debate is not nearly as two-sided. \u00a0Yet, most people are oblivious to its benefits.<\/p>\n

Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa that\u00a0contains negligible levels\u00a0of the psychoactive drug compound THC found in therapeutic marijuana. \u00a0Instead, it is harvested mostly for its oil, fiber, and seeds, and is commonly refined into foods, waxes, resins, cloth, paper, fuel, and mulch. \u00a0As opposed to many inorganic, non-renewable resources that we as humans tend to waste, hemp is a completely natural and renewable resource which many people have been encouraging as an alternative to the plastics and textiles.<\/p>\n

For two Italian men, 23 year old Giovanni Milazzo and 27 year old Antonio Caruso, they are looking to bring this naturally grown product into the 3D printing space via 3D printer filament. Their company, Kan\u00e8sis, is looking to sell hemp as a feedstock for 3D printing products.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of Kanesis was first conceived by Giovanni one year ago,\u201d Antonio Caruso says. \u201cDay by day, the project has grown significantly until in January I met Giovanni and we decided to continue the project together. We both could have our own job, but we firmly believe in this project and for this reason we are investing, literally everything we have, in Kanesis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milazzo, who jumps hurdles for the Italian National track circuit, graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering. \u00a0And Caruso, who was a financial analyst for Citigroup, realized that the 3D printing market as well as the 3D printing materials space were growing at a rapid rate. \u00a0They decided it was time to grab a piece of the pie, in a means which would benefit our environment and society as a whole. \u00a0Thus, the idea of 3D Hemp printing was born. \u00a0So what exactly are the benefits to 3D printing with hemp?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basic hemp filament has considerable technical advantages,\u201d Caruso says. \u201cThe objects molded with hemp plastic do not seem like simple plastic objects, and what is even more extraordinary, they do not seem objects printed in 3D, since the difference between each layer is not relevant. \u00a0It is lighter than conventional petrochemical plastics and therefore it is particularly suitable for building technological objects like small drones for example.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are 3D printed hemp drones on the horizon? \u00a0They very well may be, if Caruso and Milazzo have their way. \u00a0The filament they have created is made up of 100% vegetation, formed by the residues of two plants that together with a thermoplastic resin make the material suitable for extrusion from a 3D printer\u2019s hot-end. \u00a0It prints at a temperature very close to that of PLA filament, just slightly higher at 210 degrees Celsius. \u00a0As for what 3D printed end-products look like, Caruso says that it is extraordinarily light in weight and provides an outstanding finish, completely natural to the touch.<\/p>\n

Their plan is to officially unveil this new material at a conference and expo in Milan on August 8th -12th, 2015. \u00a0They then plan to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for production sometime this fall. \u00a0The two men hope that they will be able to bring the filament to market sometime in the beginning of 2016. \u00a0Pricing has not yet been determined but we are told that it will be priced within the elite range of specialty filaments. \u00a0\u201cAs it has a considerably lower density than other materials used to make filament, it will take more volume; a [spool] of 0.500 Kg will be equivalent to a \u2018normal\u2019 filament spool of 0.750Kg,\u201d Caruso says.<\/p>\n

The upcoming crowdfunding campaign will also aim at developing other hemp-based industrial products such as bio-fuels, bio-polymers, and other bio-composites that are already in advanced stages of development. \u00a0\u201cKan\u00e8sis is not a product, but it is the name of an ambitious project that puts the most receptive and creative Sicilian minds together,\u201d says Caruso. \u00a0\u201cOur purpose is to give a future to our land not based on oil-petroleum products. \u00a0We can develop all the products we need from the fields, and this is our aim. \u00a0Developing bio-fuels, paper, bio-bricks, bio-composites from earth, thus generating thousands of jobs in a country where 70% of the land is currently abandoned: this will be the crux of our crowdfounding campaign!\u201d<\/p>\n

Kan\u00e8sis could provide a renewable option to replacing many of the modern plastics that are taxing our environment. \u00a0\u00a0Wouldn\u2019t you like to be able to utilize plastics and other engineering materials made of hemp? \u00a0Comment below and let us know.<\/p>\n