Abstract
A novel metal matrix composite freeform fabrication approach, fiber traction printing (FTP), is demonstrated through controlling the wetting behavior between fibers and the matrix. This process utilizes the fiber bundle to control the cross-sectional shape of the liquid metal, shaping it from circular to rectangular which is more precise. The FTP process could resolve manufacturing difficulties in the complex structure of continuous fiber reinforced metal matrix composites. The printing of the first layer monofilament is discussed in detail, and the effects of the fibrous coating thickness on the mechanical properties and microstructures of the composite are also investigated in this paper. The composite material prepared by the FTP process has a tensile strength of 235.2 MPa, which is close to that of composites fabricated by conventional processes. The complex structures are printed to demonstrate the advantages and innovations of this approach. Moreover, the FTP method is suited to other material systems with good wettability, such as modified carbon fiber, surfactants, and aluminum alloys.
Highlights
The metal matrix composite (MMC) is a revolutionary, futuristic type of metal [1,2,3], which has been widely used in the aerospace and automobile industries since the 1980s
We propose a novel 3D printing approach of continuous fiber reinforced metal matrix composites, which uses the fiber bundle to control the morphology via wetting with a liquid metal
3 Results and Discussions Since the fiber suppressed the flow of the liquid metal, the cross-sectional shape was not circular and it was difficult to calculate the wire feeding by theoretical calculation (In this paper, wire feeding is expressed as the distance of the wire per 100 mm of printed monofilament)
Summary
The metal matrix composite (MMC) is a revolutionary, futuristic type of metal [1,2,3], which has been widely used in the aerospace and automobile industries since the 1980s. Additive manufacturing has advantages in its flexible process, the simplicity of the tool, and direct molding [10,11,12,13], which can overcome the current difficulties in the preparation of metal matrix composites. A hypereutectic alloy of SnPb, which has the characteristics of low melting point, good fluidity, and wettability, can be used for 3D printing [17]. Making a SnPb alloy into a composite could greatly improve its mechanical properties [18,19,20], physical properties [21], and the ability to use direct molding by means of the additive manufacturing process
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