Development of a prototype 3D printer extruder to support continuous fiber 3D printing
- Towards the development and validation of new sets of performant thermoplastic composites, BioG3D is developing an open-materials prototype 3D printer extruder for composite production with tailored fiber placement, enabled by Coaxial Continuous Fiber 3D Printing.
- During the last 6 months, redesign and modification of an FFF printhead was conducted.
- Design alterations and prototyping of the modified print-head integration bracket, X-axis carriage grip, fan holder and heatblock were conducted in order to support in-nozzle impregnation of twisted Carbon Fiber (CF) multifilaments with thermoplastic materials in filament form.
- Testing of the prototype 3D printing feeding system is in progress, by employing custom G-code scripts in order to fine-tune material feed rate, printing temperature and printing speed.
- Advanced toolpath generation algorithms are also in development to demonstrate a digitalized manufacturing workflow of 3D printed composites with complex bioinspired structures and advanced materials.
- During the next phase, the printability assessment of thermoplastic matrix and interaction with continuous fiber reinforcement will be conducted to assess properties and performance of the output 3D printed composite material/structures and provide feedback for process optimization and fabrication strategies to be pursued.
- This approach allows to produce free-form, CF composites with continuous fiber reinforcement, without the need for expensive facilities and equipment, such as autoclaves and complex rigid molds, while combining low-cost equipment and advanced feedstock materials for an application-driven production of high-performance components.
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