Molding process and properties of continuous carbon fiber three-dimensional printing

Currently, carbon fiber composite has been applied in the field of three-dimensional printing to produce the high-performance parts with complex geometric features. This technique comprise both the advantages of three-dimensional printing and the material, which are light weight, high strength, integrated molding, and without mold, and the limitation of model complexity. In order to improve the performance of three-dimensional printing process using carbon fiber composite, in this article, a novel molding process of three-dimensional printing for continuous carbon fiber composites is developed, including the construction of printing material, the design of printer nozzle, and the modification of printing process. A suitable structure of nozzle on the printer is adjusted for the continuous carbon fiber composites. For the sake of ensuring the continuity of composited material during the processing, a cutting algorithm for jumping point is proposed to improve the printing path during process. On this basis, the experiment of continuous carbon fiber composite is performed and the mechanical properties of the printed test samples are analyzed. The results show that the tensile strength and bending strength of the sample printed by polylactic acid–continuous carbon fiber composites increased by 204.7% and 116.3%, respectively compared with pure polylactic acid materials, and those of the sample printed by nylon–continuous carbon fiber composites increased by 301.1% and 17.4% compared with pure nylon materials, and those of test sample by nylon–continuous carbon fiber composites under the heated and pressurized treatment increased by 383.6% and 233.2% compared with pure nylon material.