Fabrication and Formability of Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Resin Matrix Composites Using Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

In the current process for additive manufacturing of continuous carbon fiber reinforced resin matrix composites, the fiber and resin matrix are fed into the molten chamber, and then impregnated and compounded in the original position, and finally extruded and deposited on the substrate. It is difficult to control the ratio of fiber and resin, and to achieve good interface fusion, which results in an unsatisfactory enhancement effect. Therefore, an additive manufacturing process based on continuous carbon fiber reinforced polylactic acid composite prepreg filament was explored in this study. The effects of various process parameters on the formability of composites were studied through systematic process experiments. The results showed that the process parameters of additive manufacturing have a systematic influence on the forming quality, accuracy and efficiency, and on the mechanical properties of CFRP. Through the experimental optimization of various process parameters, a continuous and stable forming process was achieved when the nozzle aperture was 0.8 mm, the nozzle printing temperature was 240 °C, the substrate temperature was 60 °C, the wire feeding speed was 5 mm/s, the nozzle moving speed was 5 mm/s, the path bonding rate was 40%, and the printing layer thickness was 0.7 mm. Based on the optimized process parameters, direct additive manufacturing of a lightweight and high-strength composite cellular load-bearing structure could be realized. Its volume fraction of carbon fiber was approximately 7.7%, and the tensile strength was up to 224.3 MPa.