Coextrusion of continuous fibres and viscoelastic polymers by 5-axis additive manufacturing

For 50 years, the aviation, automotive and sports industries have been trying to reduce the weight of their products by using composite materials to reduce energy consumption. However, composite structures are too expensive to manufacture and are sensitive to vibration. This project aims to develop a multi-material, 5-axis 3D printer that is capable of printing both continuous fibers and rigid and soft polymers. This process allows complex composite structures to be manufactured without the need for molds and machining and therefore offers considerable advantages over conventional methods in terms of cost and speed. In particular, this technique is able to print long fibers and soft polymers in a single component to achieve a better balance between stiffness and damping, which is not yet done in the literature.

Faculty Supervisor:

Joshua Pearce

Student:

Partner:

Université de Lorraine

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: