3D Printing of Continuous Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites: Development, Application, and Prospective

Abstract

Continuous fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRPC) have been widely used in the field of automobile, aircraft, and space due to light weight, high specific strength and modulus in comparison with metal as well as alloys. Innovation on 3D printing of CFRPCs opened a new era for the design and fabrication of complicated composite structure with high performance and low cost. 3D printing of CFRPCs provided an enabling technology to bridge the gaps between advanced materials and innovative structures. State-of-art has been reviewed according to the correlations of materials, structure, process, and performance as well as functions in 3D printing of CFRPCs. Typical applications and future perspective for 3D printing of CFRPCs were illustrated in order to grasp the opportunities and face the challenges, which need much more interdisciplinary researches covering the advanced materials, process and equipment, structural design, and final smart performance.