Additive manufacturing of multi-directional preforms for composites: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Current additive manufacturing methods present the potential to construct net-shape structures with complicated architectures, thus eliminating the need for multi-step processing and fasteners/joints. Combined with these features is the ability to ascribe material properties at the sub-millimeter scale, inspiring multi-material, functionally graded designs. These features make additive manufacturing an attractive option for composite materials development. In an effort to extend this family of technologies beyond nano-and micro-composites, we explore the additive manufacture of multi-directional composite preforms. This exercise has served to highlight the aspects of additive manufacturing critical to composite and general materials processing, as well as to demonstrate the high fidelity between modeled and additively manufactured structures. Within the scope of composites development, we review the state-of-the-art and discuss challenges facing the broad adoption of additive manufacturing for directionally reinforced composites processing.

In Situ Thermal Generation of Silver Nanoparticles in 3D Printed Polymeric Structures

“…A marriage of nanomaterials and 3D printing could offer clear advantages and numerous new opportunities [18,19,20]. …”

3D Printing of polymer composites: A short review

“…The choice of the composite formation generally depends on the types of printing systems; however, both approaches are capable of delivering distinct physicochemical properties into the resultant materials . This domain of composite printing is presenting a combination of superior technologies and material systems with an immense potential, affordability, simplicity, and unaccountable advantages . Table describes the recent applications of 3DP systems for different end‐user applications by utilizing PMC systems.…”

Microstructural characterization of additively manufactured multi-directional preforms and composites via X-ray micro-computed tomography

“…Four types of specimens as shown in Table 1 were additively manufactured using fused filament fabrication approach [30,31]. The structural parameters were depicted in Fig.…”

“…In order to explore opportunities for additive manufacturing of multidirectional preforms for composites, Quan et al recently demonstrated the fabrication of an array of preforms via fused filament fabrication (FFF) [30] and reported their results on microstructural design and additive manufacturing and characterization of short carbon fiber/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) 3D orthogonal preforms and composites [31]. Although high model-to-part fidelity was observed, the microstructure and interfaces of additively manufactured preforms and composites were not characterized.…”