3D printing of composite plastics using the Fused Filament Fabrication method

3D printing of light and durable, strong and geometrically precise composites is capable of replacing the lengthy production of aluminum machining in certain cases. Classic desktop FDM printing offers an affordable solution for the realization of your ideas. One of the many advantages is the wide range of material types. From flexible to materials with additives such as wood, bronze and others.

On the Markforge X7 3D printer, it is possible to insert various types of fiber as reinforcement into the applied Onyx solid material Matrix. Tough Onyx can be reinforced with carbon, Kevlar or fiberglass. Markforge X7 offers an alternative approach to the production of machined parts from aluminum alloys, especially in the form of less time-consuming production and less weight of prototypes.

3D printing of composite materials using production technology not only in engineering production. If you are interested in learning more about the possibilities of printing composite materials, or would like to see the use of the technology in practice, please contact us.

3D printing of continuous carbon fiber reinforced composites

3D printing of plastic composites from Onyx material. It consists of nylon and micro-carbon fibers. It provides printing of rigid, solid and precise parts. Even without the presence of fibers, the material itself is 1.4 times stronger than ABS, but at the same time its strength can be increased with continuous carbon fiber (Continuous Fiber Reinforced Plastics). One of the advantages is chemical and heat resistance.

Characteristics of composite materials and individual fibers are available on the manufacturer's website.

Materials for 3D printing of composite plastics:

• Plastics
  • Onyx or Onyx FR (self-extinguishing)
• Threads
  • Carbon
  • Kevlar
  • Fiberglass

3D printing of plastics using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM/FFF) method

The most widespread 3D printing technology that provides a wide range of materials to print. The advantage is the fast and affordable production of prototypes. It is suitable for the production of functional parts with specific properties based on the selected printing material. Products printed with FDM technology are used in all production and industrial areas. The printed parts can be glued, edited and colored as needed in post-processing.

3D printing of FDM plastics

A wide spectrum of materials offers different properties of printed parts. Printed materials such as ABS are known for their mechanical properties and are ideal for the production of functional prototypes, CPE materials are chemically resistant and hard with good dimensional stability, PC maintaining dimensional stability even at elevated temperatures (up to 110°C), high-hard Nylon prototypes, flexible TPU filaments and more. FDM technology can be a cheaper alternative to more expensive conventional technologies or SLS printing. At the customer's request, we are able to print any of the available materials in the form of filament.

Materials for 3D printing plastics:

• PLA, Tough PLA
• Nylon
• ABS
• CPE, CPE+
• PC
• TPU 95A
• PP, PVA
• Breakway
• Materials with a mixture of wood, metal, carbon and others