3D printing of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic parts
11 Jan 2017-The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (Springer London)-Vol. 91, Iss: 5, pp 2811-2817
TL;DR: In this article, carbon fiber-reinforced plastic parts were manufactured by sandwiching carbon fibres between upper and lower ABS layers made by a 3D printer using fused deposition modelling.
Abstract: Carbon fibre-reinforced plastic parts were manufactured by sandwiching carbon fibres between upper and lower ABS layers made by a 3D printer using fused deposition modelling. Carbon fibre-reinforced plastic tensile specimens were manufactured, and the strength of the specimens was measured. The strength is not increased only by sandwiching of the carbon fibres, and thermal bonding between the fibres and layers is required. The strength for the small diameter of the nozzle is higher than that for the large diameter. The thermal bonding operation is simplified by using a microwave oven.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: The most common defects on printed parts, in particular the void formation, surface roughness and poor bonding between fibre and matrix, are explored and an inclusive discussion on the effectiveness of chemical, laser, heat and ultrasound treatments to minimize these drawbacks is provided.
Abstract: Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of the fastest-growing additive manufacturing methods used in printing fibre-reinforced composites (FRC). The performances of the resulting printed parts are limited compared to those by other manufacturing methods due to their inherent defects. Hence, the effort to develop treatment methods to overcome these drawbacks has accelerated during the past few years. The main focus of this study is to review the impact of those defects on the mechanical performance of FRC and therefore to discuss the available treatment methods to eliminate or minimize them in order to enhance the functional properties of the printed parts. As FRC is a combination of polymer matrix material and continuous or short reinforcing fibres, this review will thoroughly discuss both thermoplastic polymers and FRCs printed via FDM technology, including the effect of printing parameters such as layer thickness, infill pattern, raster angle and fibre orientation. The most common defects on printed parts, in particular, the void formation, surface roughness and poor bonding between fibre and matrix, are explored. An inclusive discussion on the effectiveness of chemical, laser, heat and ultrasound treatments to minimize these drawbacks is provided by this review.
355 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the Fused filament fabrication (FFFDM) is employed to fabricate continuous carbon and glass FRTP composites and its microstructural characteristics and the resulting tensile, flexural, and quasi-static indentation characteristics of the printed composites are examined.
328 citations
281 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of build orientation, layer thickness and fiber volume content on the impact performance of 3D printed continuous carbon, glass, and Kevlar® fiber reinforced nylon composites, manufactured by FDM technique, was evaluated.
Abstract: Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a promising additive manufacturing technology and an alternative of conventional processes for the fabrication of fibre reinforced composites due to its ability to build functional parts having complex geometries. Continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTPCs) are becoming more significant in industrial applications due to their inherit advantages such as excellent mechanical performance, recycling and potential lightweight structures [1,2]. However, a major concern affecting the efficient use of 3D printed composites is the effect of impact damage on the structural integrity, compared to conventional pre-preg composites. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of build orientation, layer thickness and fibre volume content on the impact performance of 3D printed continuous carbon, glass, and Kevlar® fibre reinforced nylon composites, manufactured by FDM technique. Charpy impact tests are carried out to determine impact strength. SEM images of fractured surfaces are examined to assess failure mechanics of the different configurations. It is observed that the effect of layer thickness of nylon samples on the impact performance was different for flat and on-edge samples. Impact strength increases as layer thickness increases in flat samples but, conversely, it decreases in on-edge samples, depicting a more brittle fracture. In addition, the results show that impact strength increases as fibre volume content increases in most cases. Glass fibre reinforced samples exhibits the highest impact strength and carbon fibre reinforced samples the lowest one and similar to nylon performance. Furthermore, on-edge reinforced samples exhibit higher values of impact strength than flat reinforced samples. Finally, the results obtained demonstrate that impact strength exhibited by 3D printed composites are significantly higher than the usual 3D printed thermoplastics and, in some cases, even better than common pre-preg materials.
270 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of build orientation, layer thickness and fiber volume content on the mechanical performance of 3D printed continuous fiber reinforced composites components manufactured by a desktop 3D printer was investigated.
254 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, five important process parameters such as layer thickness, orientation, raster angle, Raster width and air gap are considered and their influence on three responses such as tensile, flexural and impact strength of test specimen is studied.
1,001 citations
TL;DR: The technique enables direct 3D fabrication without the use of molds and may become the standard next-generation composite fabrication methodology.
Abstract: We have developed a method for the three-dimensional (3D) printing of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics based on fused-deposition modeling. The technique enables direct 3D fabrication without the use of molds and may become the standard next-generation composite fabrication methodology. A thermoplastic filament and continuous fibers were separately supplied to the 3D printer and the fibers were impregnated with the filament within the heated nozzle of the printer immediately before printing. Polylactic acid was used as the matrix while carbon fibers, or twisted yarns of natural jute fibers, were used as the reinforcements. The thermoplastics reinforced with unidirectional jute fibers were examples of plant-sourced composites; those reinforced with unidirectional carbon fiber showed mechanical properties superior to those of both the jute-reinforced and unreinforced thermoplastics. Continuous fiber reinforcement improved the tensile strength of the printed composites relative to the values shown by conventional 3D-printed polymer-based composites.
722 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an analytical method considering the effects of fiber length and fiber orientation distributions for predicting the tensile strength of short-fiber-reinforced polymers (SFRP) was presented.
685 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the composites formed using main rapid prototyping processes such as Selective Laser Sintering/Melting, Laser Engineered Net Shaping, Laminated Object Manufacturing, Stereolithography, Fused Deposition Modeling, Three Dimensional Printing and Ultrasonic Consolidation are discussed.
436 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a composite material for use with fused deposition modeling (FDM) is presented, which consists of VGCF and ABS copolymers, with a maximum composition of 10 wt % nanofibers.
Abstract: Vapor-grown carbon fibers (VGCFs), a practical model nanofiber for single-walled carbon nanotubes, were combined with an acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) copolymer to create a composite material for use with fused deposition modeling (FDM). Continuous filament feedstock materials were extruded from Banbury mixed composites with a maximum composition of 10 wt % nanofibers. Issues of dispersion, porosity, and fiber alignment were studied. SEM images indicated that the VGCFs were well dispersed and evenly distributed in the matrix and that no porosity existed in the composite material following FDM processing. VGCFs aligned both in the filament feedstock and in the FDM traces suggested that nanofibers, in general, can be aligned through extrusion/shear processing. The feedstock materials were processed into test specimens for mechanical property comparisons with unfilled ABS. The VGCF-filled ABS swelled less than did the plain ABS at similar processing conditions due to the increased stiffness. The tensile strength and modulus of the VGCF-filled ABS increased an average of 39 and 60%, respectively, over the unfilled ABS. Storage modulus measurements from dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that the stiffness increased 68%. The fracture behavior of the composite material indicated that the VGCFs act as restrictions to the chain mobility of the polymer. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3081–3090, 2003
421 citations