Extrusion Freeform Fabrication of Chopped-Fibre Reinforced Composites

Abstract

Extrusion freeform fabrication is a process whereby three-dimensional parts are built by writing successive layers of material onto a support. In this case, two types of epoxy resin have been formed into test bars containing varying fractions of chopped carbon fibre of various lengths. It is shown that the fibre orientation follows the writing direction and has a large influence on the directional elastic properties of the composite. Test bars have also been formed containing multiple layers of reinforced and unreinforced resin to demonstrate the flexibility of this method.