Has the wind of 3D printed carbon fiber composites been blown into the country?

In the field of composite materials , one of the most important areas for the manufacturing industry is carbon fiber reinforced materials, which can provide strength comparable to metals and are very light. Carbon fibers are widely used in aerospace and automotive industries, including weight and strength ratios. Application prospects.

Foreign players in the field of carbon fiber composites include desktop-grade Markforged, Orbital Composites, industrial-grade Arevo Labs, Impossible Objects, EnvisionTec, and Electroimpact for AFP technology. In this issue, Xiao Bian selected two typical cases in China, and what is the carbon fiber wind that blows into China?

Chengdu Xinkeli Chemical Technology

Carbon fiber composite for 3D printed engine cylinder head

Automobile engines have high requirements on the strength of materials. In the past, cast iron was used, but its weight was heavy and heat dissipation was slow. In order to reduce weight and enhance heat dissipation, an aluminum alloy engine came into being. Aluminum alloys are used to improve both the performance of automobiles and lightweight materials. In recent years, the use of aluminum alloys in automobiles has increased, and they are used as engines, heat exchangers, turbochargers, gearboxes, wheels, and car sounds. part.

As the key component of the automobile, the cylinder head of the automobile engine is reliable in its working process and directly related to the performance of the normal operation of the car. The fuel gas in the cylinder can reach an instantaneous temperature of 1100 °C, and it faces the harsh environment of many factors such as hot stamping, chemical corrosion and high pressure. Therefore, the structural stability, microcrack, high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance of the cylinder head are extremely high.

In view of the defects that existing aluminum alloys are easy to form microcracks when 3D printing is used to form automobile engine cylinder heads, resulting in a decrease in strength and temperature resistance, Chengdu Xinkeli Chemical Technology proposes a composite material for a 3D printing engine cylinder head. The composite material contains a carbon fiber precursor and a crack repairing agent, and the carbon fiber precursor has good 3D printing bonding forming characteristics, and the carbon fiber precursor is converted into carbon fiber at 550-600 ° C during sintering, thereby improving the strength and high temperature resistance of the aluminum alloy. Further, through the crack repairing agent, the molten crystal grains of the aluminum alloy can be refined, the crystal grains of the aluminum alloy are fine and uniform, and microcracks are prevented from being generated, thereby eliminating defects of voids and microcracks caused by 3D printing. By printing the automobile engine cylinder head 3D with this material, it can work for a long time at a high temperature of 300 ° C without deformation.

Beijing University of Chemical Technology

Carbon fiber reinforced composite 3D printing for aerospace applications

The technology of Beijing University of Chemical Technology is to crimp the carbon fiber reinforced composite material strip on the unwinding device, which is driven by the feeding device to bring the carbon fiber reinforced composite material into the printing supply head, and the printing supply head lays the carbon fiber reinforced composite material strip on the workbench. The laser source of the laser generator is divided into two to be the laser head 1 and the laser head to heat the side and the bottom surface of the carbon fiber reinforced composite material strip, and the table has the three-dimensional motion required for printing.

The carbon fiber reinforced composite material strip curled on the unwinding device is fed by the feeding device into the printer feeding head, and the working table is subjected to XYZ three-dimensional movement under the program driving, while the carbon fiber reinforced composite material is laid on the worktable. The laser head and the laser head are used to heat the side and bottom surfaces of the strip-shaped carbon fiber reinforced composite strip, and the carbon fiber reinforced composite strip is bonded to the adjacent strip-shaped carbon fiber reinforced composite material, and the process is repeated. Until the printing of the complete product.

The printing process cuts the product model into several strip-shaped units based on the principle of calculus, and uses the printer nozzle to precisely position the carbon fiber reinforced composite material, and simultaneously heats and welds the adjacent ribbon-shaped carbon fiber reinforced composite material to form the entire product by laser heating. It is suitable for processing large-scale products, which can improve the production efficiency of complex products and reduce the processing cost, and the strength and rigidity of the printed solid parts can be greatly improved.

In addition, in the process of 3D printing, the raw material does not need to be completely melted, and has the characteristics of energy saving, simple process, lower cost and fast printing speed. The product has strong applicability, and is especially suitable for large-scale product printing and molding, and the product can be applied to the aerospace field. With high-end cars and other fields.

The printing technology of carbon fiber reinforced composite materials of Beijing University of Chemical Technology reminds Xiaobian of the CBAM technology of Impossible Objects created by the entrepreneurial team of MIT in the United States. The processing of CBAM technology requires the injection of adhesive into the carbon fiber layer. The process of heat removal to remove the binder is also essential.