Abstract
Additive manufacturing holds tremendous promise in terms of revolutionizing manufacturing. However, fundamental hurdles limit mass adoption of the technology. First, production rates are extremely low. Second, the physical size of parts is generally small, less than a cubic foot. Third, while there is much excitement about metal additive manufacturing, the major growth area is in polymer additive manufacturing systems. Unfortunately, the mechanical properties of the polymer parts are poor, limiting the potential for direct part replacement. To address this issue, we describe three benefits of blending carbon fiber with polymer additive manufacturing. First, development of carbon fiber reinforced polymers for additive manufacturing achieves specific strengths approaching aerospace quality aluminum. Second, carbon fiber radically changes the behavior of the material during deposition, enabling large scale, out-of-the-oven, high deposition rate manufacturing. Finally, carbon fiber technology and additive manufacturing complement each other. Merging the two manufacturing processes enables the construction of complex components that would not be possible otherwise.
