Mould-free Processing and Additive Manufacturing of Fibre-reinforced Thermoplastic Composites for High Performance Applications

数字制造技术，如附加制造(AM)过程，通过将计算机辅助设计和自动化制造过程集成到无缝过程中，从而允许将数据“转换”成物理对象，有望给制造业带来革命性的变化。尽管熔丝制造、选择性激光烧结和连续液体界面生产等AM工艺令人兴奋，但在AM技术能够生产出具有最终用途质量的部件之前，仍存在许多工艺挑战。这些挑战涉及有限的材料选择、高空隙含量、层间粘附力差以及各向异性材料的取向受限。当AM工艺用于纤维增强聚合物复合材料(FRPC)时，这些问题尤为明显。这份NSERC发现拨款提案概述了一项研究计划，该计划旨在为FRPC开发无模具和AM制造工艺，从而为最终用户生产高质量的部件。具体地说，提出了两个互补的目标，这将使连续纤维增强热塑性复合材料的无模加工成为可能。第一种方法建立在连续晶格制造的基础上，这是一种最近开发的基于熔丝制造的混纺纱线技术，并将其制造能力扩展到粘合多丝结构。第二个是一个新的概念，集中在相对的压紧辊之间的片材和纺织品的巩固和形成。给出了开发这两种处理策略的方法。这项工作的新颖之处在于，它融合了新的数字制造工艺和对FRPC材料的广泛理解，从而使这些高性能材料在用于真实三维结构时的显著性能得到充分发挥。这项拟议的研究计划的结果有望显着降低制造几何复杂的FRPC部件的成本，从而对高性能驱动的小批量扇区产生积极影响。此类目标市场的例子包括航空航天、高端汽车、能源、医疗植入物和假肢。在这一框架下开发的FRPC流程，与数字制造的持续发展相结合，最终将实现产品的个性化定制，减少对昂贵制造基础设施的需求，促进生产的分散，从而减少浪费和能源消耗。

Digital fabrication techniques, such as additive manufacturing (AM) processes, are expected to revolutionize the manufacturing industry by integrating computer aided design and automated manufacturing processes into a seamless procedure, thereby allowing data to be “converted” into physical objects. While there has been much excitement surrounding AM processes like fused filament fabrication, selective laser sintering, and continuous liquid interface production, there remain many processing challenges before AM techniques are capable of producing components of end-use qualities. These challenges concern limited material selection, high void contents, poor inter-layer adhesion, and restricted orientations of anisotropic materials these problems are especially apparent when AM processes are used for fibre-reinforced polymer composites (FRPC). This NSERC Discovery Grant proposal outlines a research program to develop mould-free and AM manufacturing processes for FRPC that will lead to high quality components for end-use. Specifically, two complementary aims are proposed which will enable the mould-free processing of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites materials. The first approach builds upon continuous lattice fabrication, a recently developed fused filament fabrication-based technology for commingled yarns and expands its manufacturing capacity to bonded multi-filament structures. The second is a novel concept centered on the consolidation and forming of sheets and textiles between opposing compaction rollers. Methodologies for developing these two processing strategies are presented. This work is novel in that it fuses novel digital fabrication processes with an extensive understanding of FRPC materials such that the remarkable properties of these high performance materials are exploited fully when used in real three-dimensional structures. The results of this proposed research program are expected to significantly reduce the cost of fabricating geometrically complex FRPC parts and thus have a positive impact on low-volume sectors which are driven by high performance. Examples of such targeted markets include aerospace, aviation, high-end automotive, energy, medical implants, and prosthetics. The FRPC processes developed in this framework, combined with ongoing developments in digital manufacturing, will eventually enable individual customization of products, reduce the need for expensive manufacturing infrastructure, facilitate the decentralization of production, and, consequently, reduce waste and energy consumption.