Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have laid claim as the first team to 3-D print aerospace-grade carbon fiber composites. The laboratory said it hopes the developments leads to the “greater control and optimization of the lightweight, yet stronger than steel material.”
“The mantra is ‘if you could make everything out of carbon fiber, you would’ — it’s potentially the ultimate material,” explained Jim Lewicki, principal investigator of the research. “It’s been waiting in the wings for years because it’s so difficult to make in complex shapes. But with 3D printing, you could potentially make anything out of carbon fiber.”
As LLNL explains, carbon fiber is typically 3-D printing by physically winding the filaments around a mandrel or by weaving the fibers together like a wicker basket. Lewicki says this can result in finished products that are limited to either flat or cylindrical shapes.
However, according to LLNL, the researchers were able to print several complex 3D structures through a modified Direct Ink Writing (DIW) 3-D printing process. Lewicki and his team also developed and patented a new chemistry that can cure the material in seconds instead of hours, and used the Lab’s high performance computing capabilities to develop accurate models of the flow of carbon fiber filaments.
