3D printing of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic parts

Carbon fibre-reinforced plastic parts were manufactured by sandwiching carbon fibres between upper and lower ABS layers made by a 3D printer using fused deposition modelling. Carbon fibre-reinforced plastic tensile specimens were manufactured, and the strength of the specimens was measured. The strength is not increased only by sandwiching of the carbon fibres, and thermal bonding between the fibres and layers is required. The strength for the small diameter of the nozzle is higher than that for the large diameter. The thermal bonding operation is simplified by using a microwave oven.