Additive preforming technology applied to carbon-reinforced composites

Manufacturing composite materials by conventional methods is known to be costly as it requires many steps, equipment and tooling. The challenge this presents can benefit from the moldless approach and rapid, automated prototyping enabled by additive manufacturing. Today, additive technologies are changing the manufacturing processes of plastics and composites, allowing short series to be automated and scalable for adaptation to long series, always oriented to final part production. In addition, the mechanical limitations presented by 3D printing processes of polymeric materials have been enhanced by the reinforcement of short or continuous carbon and glass fibers, mainly. Moreover, the hybridization of additive technologies with conventional processes makes it possible to overcome their current limitations, taking advantage of many of their benefits and increasing the fields of application. In this context, the idea of developing a technology that allows obtaining intermediate parts or preforms with high geometric complexity, which require a subsequent process, such as resin transfer molding (RTM), that confers mechanical performance similar to that of composites. In this work, an alternative method of manufacturing carbon fiber reinforced preforms using an additive process based on Fused Fusion Deposition Modeling (FDM) is detailed, as well as the production of composites from these preforms. Thus, the 3D preform is manufactured from fiber filaments coated with a thermoplastic binder. Then, this preform is subjected to a thermosetting resin injection process in a mold to obtain the final composite. In summary, a new method of additive preforming in combined with RTM is proposed to manufacture carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRPC).