Review of mechanical properties of and optimisation methods for continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic parts manufactured by fused deposition modelling

A new way of manufacturing continuous fibre-reinforced plastics is the embedding of fibres in the filament of a 3D printer. This method could be used in manufacturing composite materials with a thermoplastic matrix containing glass, Kevlar and carbon fibres. This paper provides an overview of research on the mechanical and physical properties of these parts as well as optimisation approaches of additively manufactured thermoplastics. Furthermore, applicable testing and analysis methods and their corresponding standards are included. Several studies, which represent the current state of the art, are reviewed in detail for the analysis of the mechanical performance of different fibre reinforcements. In addition, an overview of different optimisation approaches is given. The ultimate tensile strength of Kevlar and glass fibre-reinforced parts are similar to those of common Aluminium alloys whereas the carbon fibre reinforced parts outperform their aluminium counterparts. Major performance limitations include a poor adhesion between layers as well as a high air void ratio.

Automated summary

A new method of manufacturing continuous fibre-reinforced plastics by embedding fibers in the filament of a 3D printer has been introduced. This method is suitable for producing composite materials with a thermoplastic matrix containing glass, Kevlar and carbon fibers. The mechanical and physical properties of these parts, as well as optimization approaches of additively manufactured thermoplastics, have been extensively studied.