Additive Manufacturing: Continuous Fiber Placement and Continuous fiber 3D Printing?

Table of Content

• Overview

• Fiber

• Resin - Polymer - Matrix

• Fiber-resin density

• Fiber Placement

• Fiber printing

• Getting to Know the Base Materials

• The Fundamental Difference in Manufacturing Composites

• Pros and Cons of Each Technology

• Choosing between AFP and 3D Printing

Overview

• Continuous fiber reinforcement is the key to achieving higher strength

• The resin or matrix holding the fiber should have no voids and is not more than 35-38% of the structure

• Either high voids or lower percentage reduces the performance exponentially

• Fiber Placement: Works by pulling strips of fiber-plastic tapes and pressing it onto a predefined simple shape.

• Fiber Printing: Extruding the filament through a heated nozzle in X-Y layers to create a highly complex shape.

• Pure polymer printing: Extruding thermoset or thermoplastic plastic through a heated nozzle in X-Y layers to create a highly complex shape.

• Hybridization: A combination of fiber placement and fiber printing applied to the manufacturing process

• The best place to use each approach

Fiber

Composites typically comprise a polymer material and a reinforcing material, like continuous fiber. The composite material offers higher strength and stiffness compared to non-reinforced polymers due to the presence of fiber, the polymer plays the role of the stress distribution medium. Continuous fiber ensures the load is distributed across the length without a weak point.

Resin - Polymer - Matrix