So far, we’ve covered some of the key aspects of carbon fiber manufacturing and how continuous carbon fiber compares to chopped in early modes of carbon fiber 3D printing. However, there are some new and emerging methods for 3D printing composites.

 .

After years of research, Illinois-based Impossible Objects has begun commercializing its composite-based additive manufacturing (CBAM) process.

 .

In CBAM, a binding material is deposited onto sheets of reinforcement material before it is flooded with thermoplastic powder, which sticks only to the binding material. The powder is subsequently blown or vacuumed off. All that remains is the plastic matrix on a sheet of reinforcement fiber. The same process continues layer by layer, with these sheets stacked one atop of the other. The stack is ultimately compressed and moved into an oven that melts the plastic matrix together. Once the object is removed from the oven, the excess […]

Click here to view original web page at 3dprint.com