Alpha 2.0
Login Register
» Articles » PMID: 32987905

3D Printing of Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites Using Fused Filament Fabrication-A Review

Overview
Journal Polymers (Basel)
Publisher MDPI
Date 2020 Sep 29
PMID 32987905
Citations 31
Authors
Andrew N Dickson
Hisham M Abourayana
Denis P Dowling
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been successfully applied for the fabrication of polymer components ranging from prototypes to final products. An issue, however, is that the resulting 3D printed parts exhibit inferior mechanical performance to parts fabricated using conventional polymer processing technologies, such as compression moulding. The addition of fibres and other materials into the polymer matrix to form a composite can yield a significant enhancement in the structural strength of printed polymer parts. This review focuses on the enhanced mechanical performance obtained through the printing of fibre-reinforced polymer composites, using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technique. The uses of both short and continuous fibre-reinforced polymer composites are reviewed. Finally, examples of some applications of FFF printed polymer composites using robotic processes are highlighted.

Citing Articles

Advanced fabrication techniques for polymer-metal nanocomposite films: state-of-the-art innovations in energy and electronic applications.

Tayyab M, Zizhe L, Rauf S, Xu Z, Sagar R, Faiz F Chem Sci. 2025; 16(8):3362-3407.

PMID: 39906390 PMC: 11789674. DOI: 10.1039/d4sc04600e.

Enhancing Polylactic Acid (PLA) Performance: A Review of Additives in Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) Filaments.

Plamadiala I, Croitoru C, Pop M, Roata I Polymers (Basel). 2025; 17(2).

PMID: 39861263 PMC: 11768329. DOI: 10.3390/polym17020191.

Influence of Raster Orientation and Feeding Rate on the Mechanical Properties of Short Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polyamide Printed by Fused-Filament Fabrication.

Belei C, Amancio-Filho S 3D Print Addit Manuf. 2024; 11(6):1921-1929.

PMID: 39734725 PMC: 11669830. DOI: 10.1089/3dp.2023.0173.

Various FDM Mechanisms Used in the Fabrication of Continuous-Fiber Reinforced Composites: A Review.

Karimi A, Rahmatabadi D, Baghani M Polymers (Basel). 2024; 16(6).

PMID: 38543436 PMC: 10974595. DOI: 10.3390/polym16060831.

Characterization of Radiation Shielding Capabilities of High Concentration PLA-W Composite for 3D Printing of Radiation Therapy Collimators.

Velasquez J, Fuentealba M, Santibanez M Polymers (Basel). 2024; 16(6).

PMID: 38543375 PMC: 10974210. DOI: 10.3390/polym16060769.

References
1.
Bakarich S, Gorkin 3rd R, In Het Panhuis M, Spinks G . Three-dimensional printing fiber reinforced hydrogel composites. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2014; 6(18):15998-6006. DOI: 10.1021/am503878d. View
2.
Matsuzaki R, Ueda M, Namiki M, Jeong T, Asahara H, Horiguchi K . Three-dimensional printing of continuous-fiber composites by in-nozzle impregnation. Sci Rep. 2016; 6:23058. PMC: 4786850. DOI: 10.1038/srep23058. View
3.
Wickramasinghe S, Do T, Tran P . FDM-Based 3D Printing of Polymer and Associated Composite: A Review on Mechanical Properties, Defects and Treatments. Polymers (Basel). 2020; 12(7). PMC: 7407763. DOI: 10.3390/polym12071529. View