Page 41 - ILK Research Report 2020
P. 41

3D³

            Additive manufacturing of continuous fibre-reinforced composites
            with tailor-made properties using UV-curing thermoset polymers



            Established manufacturing technologies have only limited potential for eco-  Period
            nomic production of customized lightweight structures with tailor-made   01.07.2019 – 31.12.2020
            properties. In this context, additive manufacturing technologies offer entirely
            new horizons, but are by now only available for thermoplastic matrix systems.   Project Director
            Within the framework of the Fraunhofer centre “Smart Production and Ma-  Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Maik Gude
            terials”, subproject 3D³, scientists at the TU Dresden Institute of Lightweight
            Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK) develop an entirely new manufac-  Contact Person
            turing process based on UV light-curing matrix systems for the production of   Sirko Geller
            continuous fibre-reinforced thermoset 3D printing structures.    Eckart Kunze

            Core element of the newly developed automated manufacturing cell is a   Funding
            highly integrative mixing head that addresses the main research challenge of   •  Free State of Saxony
            enabling optimal fibre impregnation with the liquid resin and fast curing for   •  European Regional Development Fund
            form stability within few seconds after deposition on the robot-guided print-  (ERDF)
            ing bed. Based on extensive UV-rheological measurements accompanied by   •  Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB)
            processing studies a fundamental process understanding has been elabo-
            rated. The novel manufacturing process is predestined for manufacturing
            small batches of individualized composites structures and, as a supplement
            to established processes, enables increased flexibility in the serial production
            of lightweight components.







































            Automated manufacturing cell for 3D-printing of thermoset continuous fibre   Print head for 3D printing of continuous fibre-reinforced
            reinforced composite parts                            polymers




                                                                                               Supervised by:
                                                                           This measure is co-financed with tax funds
                                                                           based on the budget approved by the Saxon
                                                                           state parliament.



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