A Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Additive Manufacturing Processing Based on PET Fiber and PLA

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Continuous fiber-reinforced manufacturing offers advantages but faces challenges in cost and process control.
• Existing methods often require complex post-processing and fiber cutting.
• There is a need for accessible and sustainable fiber-reinforced composite fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel method for printing continuous fiber-reinforced composites on a standard fused filament fabrication (FFF) platform.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of using Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers.
• To develop a spatial continuous toolpath planning strategy for simplified post-processing.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a common fused filament fabrication (FFF) platform.
• Employed Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as continuous fiber materials.
• Implemented a spatial continuous toolpath planning strategy to avoid fiber cutting.

Main Results:

• Successfully printed complex geometric shapes with continuous fiber reinforcement.
• Achieved high material recovery rates: 100% for PET fiber and 83% for PLA.
• Demonstrated significant mechanical improvement: a 117.8% increase in tensile strength for PET fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites (PFRTPCs) compared to polyamide-66 (PA66).

Conclusions:

• The developed FFF-based method offers a cost-effective and controllable approach to continuous fiber-reinforced composite manufacturing.
• The process supports material recycling and reuse, contributing to environmental sustainability.
• The enhanced mechanical properties of the printed composites open possibilities for advanced applications.