When your part or product requires exceptional mechanical properties, lightness and durability, carbon fiber is the benchmark to achieve it. Its excellent strength-to-weight ratio makes it the material of choice for high-performance engineering applications, shop tools, factory jigs and fixtures, body prototypes, and much more. Carbon fiber 3D printing has been popular since the 1960s […]
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When your part or product requires exceptional mechanical properties, lightness and durability, carbon fiber is the benchmark to achieve it. Its excellent strength-to-weight ratio makes it the material of choice for high-performance engineering applications, shop tools, factory jigs and fixtures, body prototypes, and much more.
Carbon fiber 3D printing has been popular since the 1960s and has recently become a material that gives plastic parts metal-like strength as well as resistance to heat, chemicals and corrosion.
Today, Mohou.com will share with you some knowledge points related to carbon fiber 3D printing.
1. What is carbon fiber 3D printing?
SLS parts 3D printed using carbon fiber-infused Nylon 11 powder material from Formlabs (Source: Formlabs)
Carbon fiber 3D printing is a general term for 3D printing using chopped or continuous carbon fiber materials embedded in a polymer powder or filament. The “base” material that the carbon fiber is injected into can be nylon, PEEK, or various other polymers, and the amount of carbon fiber in the material varies. Because the material is carbon fiber with a polymer, you sometimes hear this type of 3D printing called “composite” 3D printing.
The two main 3D printing technologies for carbon fiber are:
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
FDM (left) and SLS (right) technological diagram (Source: Hubs)
1. Carbon fiber 3D printing FDM process
FDM 3D printing is the most convenient and versatile method for manufacturing carbon fiber parts.
Carbon fiber filament can be used with a variety of FDM 3D printers provided you use a hardened steel nozzle, but materials may vary. Filament containing carbon fiber particles works in the same way: the heat generated by the extruder makes the filament bendable and aligns the embedded carbon fibers in the direction of printing, thus giving the strength and rigidity of the filament. final impression.
The second carbon fiber printing method is continuous carbon fiber (CCF), which uses dual extrusion nozzles. One extruder deposits a layer of continuous carbon fiber, while the other deposits a layer of another material. This method creates stronger parts than using short fibers and provides more consistent load distribution. It is ideal for parts that do not require all carbon fiber, but are reinforced in specific areas, such as only on the exterior walls.
The Raise3D E2CF desktop printer is designed for carbon fiber-infused filaments (Source: Raise 3D)
Another version of this method is continuous fiber coextrusion (CFC), where the plastic and continuous fibers are fused together inside the extruder.
What is very interesting about these two methods is that depending on the fill and deposition strategy, custom material properties can be integrated into the part without changing its net shape. Different reinforcement strategies include peeling, fiberboard strips, ribs, and fiber angles, among others.
The Sinterit Nils 480 is an SLS 3D printer capable of manufacturing nylon and carbon fiber parts (Source: Sinterit)
2. SLS process for 3D printing carbon fiber
SLS 3D printing uses high-power lasers to fuse powdered plastics to form 3D shapes, one layer at a time. It can produce parts that are finely detailed, strong, durable and heat resistant. Carbon fiber nylon (CF-PA) is one of the most commonly used materials for SLS 3D printing.
Carbon fiber filled nylon tends to be highly anisotropic, meaning that the material properties will change depending on the orientation of the part during the printing process because the small fibers will align with how the powder is distributed on the manufacturing platform. For example, the tensile strength in this direction will be much higher than in the other two directions, so the orientation of the part is important and your build preparation software should alert you to this.
2. The main advantages of carbon fiber 3D printing
Robust and functional templates can now be 3D printed instead of machined (Source: All3DP)
When superior physical properties are required, printing with carbon fiber reinforcements is chosen instead of more standard materials such as PLA, ABS, nylon or PETG. This applies not only to end-use parts, but also to manufacturing facilities, as well as functional prototypes.
Carbon fiber increases strength while reducing weight, making it an ideal composite material for many industries, including automotive, aerospace and sports. Of course, process-specific characteristics, such as layer lines or dimensional accuracy, always depend primarily on the type of machine used.
BigRep Pro printers can handle high temperature PA12 CF and third-party filaments (Source: BigRep)
Overall, carbon fiber 3D printing is hailed for its following benefits:
High strength and rigidity
Potential metal substitutes
Excellent dimensional stability
Available for end-use parts and functional prototypes
The Superstrata bike is 3D printed and custom made from continuous carbon fiber (Source: Superstrata)
3. How to choose a carbon fiber 3D printer
Eight Best Desktop Carbon Fiber 3D Printers (Source: All3DP)
There are many factors to consider when choosing a carbon fiber 3D printer. When shopping, consider the following:
3D Printer and Hardware Costs
Mechanical properties of your parts
Level of detail
Print size and volume
Print speed
Hardware options (open or proprietary)
Specific market needs (automotive, aerospace, manufacturing)
If you’re getting started with carbon fiber 3D printing of tools, accessories, and small to medium-sized rugged prototypes, you have a variety of desktop models to choose from.
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