Abstract
Recently, 3D printing of fiber-reinforced composites has gained significant research attention. However, commercial utilization is limited by the low fiber content and poor fiber–resin interface. Herein, a novel 3D printing process to fabricate continuous fiber-reinforced thermosetting polymer composites (CFRTPCs) is proposed. In brief, the proposed process is based on the viscosity–temperature characteristics of the thermosetting epoxy resin (E-20). First, the desired 3D printing filament was prepared by impregnating a 3K carbon fiber with a thermosetting matrix at 130 °C. The adhesion and support required during printing were then provided by melting the resin into a viscous state in the heating head and rapidly cooling after pulling out from the printing nozzle. Finally, a powder compression post-curing method was used to accomplish the cross-linking reaction and shape preservation. Furthermore, the 3D-printed CFRTPCs exhibited a tensile strength and tensile modulus of 1476.11 MPa and 100.28 GPa, respectively, a flexural strength and flexural modulus of 858.05 MPa and 71.95 GPa, respectively, and an interlaminar shear strength of 48.75 MPa. Owing to its high performance and low concentration of defects, the proposed printing technique shows promise in further utilization and industrialization of 3D printing for different applications.
Highlights
At present, the most commonly used polymer consumables in three-dimensional (3D) printing are thermoplastic filaments and powders, which exhibit weak load capacity, poor interlayer bonding, and low strength and hardness [1,2]
The fiber content in continuous fiber-reinforced thermosetting polymer composites (CFRTPCs) was mainly controlled by the impregnating module
One should note that these defects inevitably influenced the mechanical properties of the obtained CFRTPCs by the subsequent printing and curing modules
Summary
The most commonly used polymer consumables in three-dimensional (3D) printing are thermoplastic filaments and powders, which exhibit weak load capacity, poor interlayer bonding, and low strength and hardness [1,2]. The high-performance fiber is used as reinforcement, and the polymeric resin is used as a matrix to improve the mechanical properties [3,4]. SCF/EP composites with a fiber content of 35 wt % exhibited a tensile strength of 66.2 MPa. Later, continuous fiber reinforcements were used to further enhance the mechanical properties due to the ceilings of the short fiber reinforcement [13,14,15]. The printed CCF/ABS composites, with a 10 wt % fiber content, exhibited a tensile strength and flexural strength of 147 MPa and 127 MPa, respectively. The fiber content, printing precision, fiber–resin interface, and internal voids were analyzed to characterize defects, deformations, and resin distribution during impregnating, printing, and curing modules. The mechanical properties of CFRTPCs were studied by tensile, flexural, and interlaminar shear testing
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