Skip to main content
Skip header

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
markforged_onyx.jpg

Equipment used for 3D printing of composite plastics

Built from the ground up for reliable performance, the Markforged X7 printer delivers breakthrough 3D printing quality and precision. The platform, characterized by the highest industrial class, brings many improvements and is at the top of its development line. It features a reinforced dual-nozzle system that supports the printing of continuous carbon and other reinforcing fibers. Laser inspection scans the part during printing to ensure the greatest possible dimensional accuracy.

Technical specifications Markforged X7

Maximum component dimensions (X × Y × Z) 330 × 270 × 200 mm
Layer height 50-125 µm
The highest tensile strength of the print 700 MPa
The highest bending stiffness of the print 51 MPa/s
Plastic materials Onyx, Nylon, Onyx FR
Reinforcing fibers Kevlar, Carbon, Glass, HSHT

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
ultimaker.png

Equipment used for 3D printing of plastics

For FDM printing, we offer the Ultimaker S5 printer. This professional 3D printer offers reliability, universal and practically continuous use. It offers industrial quality prints. The advantage is a large printing area and covering, which enables the printing of even harder-to-print materials that require a constant ambient temperature. The printer includes a print head with two nozzles, which allows printing multi-color prints or using two different materials. The printer enables versatile production from rapid prototyping to customized functional parts.

Technical specifications Ultimaker S5

Maximum component dimensions (X × Y × Z) 330 × 240 × 300 mm
Layer height (depending on nozzle) nozzle 0,4 mm 20-200 µm
Number of extruders 2
Nozzle diameter 0,25 / 0,4 / 0,8 µm/s
Nozzle working temperature 180-280 °C
Heating pad 20-140 °C
Supported data formats .stl, .obj, .x3d, .3mf, .jpg, .gif, .png

Are you interested in this service? Contact us.

Ing. Jakub Měsíček, Ph.D.

Ing. Jakub Měsíček, Ph.D.

3D printing composites