SBIR Phase I: Three Dimentional (3D) Printing With Embedded, Layer-Crossing, Continuous Carbon Filament Reinforcement

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的广泛影响是提高三维（3D）打印聚合物物体的综合强度，这将使这些物体更适用于结构应力原型和制造产品（包括原型和物理上较大的产品）。所提出的强度增益是通过在3d打印的主体内以多个方向嵌入连续的碳纤维细丝来实现的。设计师和工程师会根据他们的具体需求来调整内部的碳纤维结构。由此产生的碳纤维增强物体（与一般的3d打印物体一样）可以在没有昂贵和/或耗时的使用模具，工具或专门的手工劳动的情况下生产。通过促进高性价比的、基于塑料的定制和小批量制造产品的生产，该项目旨在加速产品开发，培育创业精神，并鼓励美国国内的制造业努力，使想象中的概念更容易在现实世界中变成强大的、功能性的物体。SBIR第一阶段项目旨在开发一种在熔融沉积建模（FDM） 3D打印体内嵌入连续、层间交叉的碳纤维细丝的工艺，以便在与3D打印层正交的平面上提供拉伸和剪切加固。研究的目标是采用与3D打印层正交的准平行细丝，减少层间弱点和由此产生的FDM打印的结构各向异性特性。该项目将进一步研究使用更复杂的长丝排列，以在产品设计师指定的方向和路径上提供选择性加固。整体强度、刚度和韧性将被评估，并与传统制造的工程塑料进行比较。嵌入过程将与打印的逐层创建同时进行，将通过FDM打印机喷嘴与自动机器人灯丝操纵器的动作相结合来实现。该项目将检查打印部件和组件的几何范围，其中包括增强细丝，最初的目标是打印沿着多个轴连续弯曲的增强贝壳状物体。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to increase the all-around strength of three dimentional (3D)-printed polymer objects, which will make such objects more useful for structurally-stressed prototypes and manufactured products (including prototypes and products that are physically large). The prposed strength gains are expected from embedding continuous carbon-fiber filaments in multiple directions within the body of a 3D-print. Designers and engineers seek to tailor internal carbon-fiber arrangements to suit their specific needs. The resulting carbon-fiber-reinforced objects (as with 3D-printed objects in general) may be produced without the expensive and/or time-consuming use of molds, tooling, or specialized hand-labor. By facilitating the cost-effective production of strong, plastics-based custom and low-volume manufactured products, this project seeks accelerate product development, foster entrepreneurship, and encourage manufacturing endeavors within the United States by making it easier to turn imagined concepts into strong, functional objects in the physical world.This SBIR Phase I project seeks to develop a process for embedding continuous, layer-crossing, carbon-fiber filaments within the body of a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D print in order to provide tensile and shear reinforcement along planes orthogonal to the 3D printed layer. The goal of the research is to employ quasi-parallel filaments oriented orthogonal to 3D print layers, reducing the interlayer weakness and resultant structural anisotropy characteristic of FDM prints. The project will further examine the use of more complex filament arrangements to provide selective reinforcement in directions and along paths specified by a product designer. The overall strength, stiffness, and toughness will be assessed adn compared to conventionally-manufactured engineering plastics. The embedding process, which will take place simultaneously with the layer-by-layer creation of the print, will be achieved by combining the actions of FDM printer nozzles with those of automated robotic filament manipulators. The project will examine the geometric range of printed parts and components that incorporate reinforcing filaments, with initial goal of printing reinforced shell-like objects that continuously curve along multiple axes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.