Interface and performance of 3D printed continuous carbon fiber reinforced PLA composites

A novel 3D printing based fabrication process of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites (CFRTPCs) was proposed. Continuous carbon fiber and PLA filament were utilized as reinforcing phase and matrix, respectively, and simultaneously fed into the fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing process realizing the integrated preparation and forming of CFRTPCs. Interfaces and performance of printed composites were systematically studied by analyzing the influencing of process parameters on the temperature and pressure in the process. Forming mechanism of multiple interfaces was proposed and utilized to explain the correlations between process and performance. Fiber content of the printed specimens can be easily controlled by changing the process parameters. When the fiber content reached 27%, flexural strength of 335 MPa and modulus of 30 GPa were obtained for the printed composite specimens. Composite components were fabricated to demonstrate the process feasibility. Potential applications could be found in the field of aviation and aerospace.