A Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Additive Manufacturing Processing Based on PET Fiber and PLA
Continuous fiber-reinforced manufacturing has many advantages, but the fabrication cost is high and its process is difficult to control. This paper presents a method for printing fiber-reinforced composite on the common fused filament fabrication (FFF) platform. Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyethylen...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Materials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/14/3044 |
| Summary: | Continuous fiber-reinforced manufacturing has many advantages, but the fabrication cost is high and its process is difficult to control. This paper presents a method for printing fiber-reinforced composite on the common fused filament fabrication (FFF) platform. Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers are used as printing materials. A spatial continuous toolpath planning strategy is employed to reduce the workload of post-processing without cutting the fiber. Experimental results show that this process not only enables the printing of models with complex geometric shapes but also supports material recycling and reuse. A material recovery rate of 100% for continuous PET fiber and 83% for PLA were achieved for a better environmental impact. Mechanical tests show that the maximum tensile strength of continuous PET fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites (PFRTPCs) is increased by 117.8% when compared to polyamide-66 (PA66). |
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| ISSN: | 1996-1944 |