3D Printer Review: Battle of Continuous Fiber Composites

June 16, 2021

3D Printer Review: Battle of Continuous Fiber Composites

With so many choices for 3D printers on the market, few can deliver strength-to-weight ratios like continuous fiber 3D printers.

Using FDM Fused Deposition Modeling (aka FFF) technology, these 3D printers lay continuous fibers into the base filament of the 3D printed part to produce strong lightweight parts that rival metal.

There is a couple of competitors in the market and Anisoprint with over 10 years of composite manufacturing experience offering a clear alternative to the rest.

The name Anisoprint is derived from anisotropy, to exhibit different parameters of stiffness and strength in different directions (e.g. horizontal and vertical).

Understanding the differences between Anisoprint and their main competitors can be confusing, however, understanding how traditional composite fiber parts are manufactured gives you insight into how these manufacturing processes were adapted to 3D printing technology.

Composite Manufacturing

Without getting too technical, producing composite parts is laying in fiber, such as carbon fiber, into polymer matrix layer by layer and laminating them together: and it is the way these 3D Printers laminate that is the most distinguishing characteristic between them.

The type of fiber and the volume of fiber in a composite can vary, for instance, when manufacturing aerospace composites the amount is as high as 60%.

3D Printer Fiber Extrusion Methods

Both Anisoprint and the competition use a dual extrusion technique where there is a base filament and continuous fiber, the latter can be customized in the slicing software.

The way the competitor system extrudes the fiber is a prepreg placement technique: heating a roll of filament fiber which has about 28% fiber and the remaining being a thermoplastic and by heating the filament as it extrudes, it bonds to the base thermoplastic filament, usually a Nylon or Nylon mixed with short fibers of carbon fiber and limited colour choices.

Anisoprint use a unique co-extrusion technique, where prepreg (fiber impregnated with thermoset) and thermoplastic matrix and fed into the extruder simultaneously. The extruder heats them, making the matrix soft and elastic and the fiber sticky and less rigid, then the blend is extruded as one single composite material.

Its this patented co-extrusion technique using preimpregnated (with thermoset) fiber that gives it the ability to bond to a wide range of thermoplastics.

Composite Co-Extrusion

The benefit of using Anisoprint co-extrusion is adaptive 3D printing: where the volume ratio change or amount of matrix and fiber can be modified, if required.

Anisoprint co-extrusion allows 3D printer users to create parts with fiber volumes up to 60% (which meets the demands of aerospace production), 3D print internal lattice structures with continuous fiber (not just base filament), make use of adaptive layer thickness, and make many other flexible choices to lay continuous fiber.

Using prepreg plus thermoplastic instead of dry fiber plus thermoplastic creates an open system, giving the user the ability to print with any type of base filament or colour within the specifications of the printer, such as PLA, Nylon, TPU, ABS, Pet-G, or composites such as a thermoplastic with short fibers to provide characteristics for specific applications and conditions, such as high or low temperature, friction, UV, chemical resistance, anti-microbial/bacterial or flame retardant.

Materials

Many other continuous fiber 3D printer manufacturers offer only a limited range of their proprietary materials which can be limited to the application and colour selection. While Anisoprint have their own materials as well, they offer an open system, so users have a wide range for choice when it comes to material applications such as Nylon, PLA, PET-G, Polycarbonate, PC-FR, TPU, etc. and of course any colour choice that the filament comes in, so you can print in the right material for the right application.

Aura Slicing Software

Aura slicing software allows the user to use the flexibility of anisoprinting technology to the fullest. With a wide range of adjustable parameters that are unique in the market, Aura can fully control the process of printing to meet all customer demands. For those who wish to simply choose a material and print, there is a number of preset optimized plug and play profiles for various materials that can produce an excellent finished part with no manual input or parameter adjustment.

Masking

A mask is an additional model that is added to the work area to intersect with the base model, changing the model’s internal structure in the intersection volume.

This type of marking intersection serves for adjusting fiber and support parameters that are different from those selected for the rest of the model.

You can see the base model (grey) and the mask model (orange) in the picture below. The base part volume inside the mask will be printed with special settings for the mask.

Layer Thickness

Aura software allows users to adapt layer thickness, for instance, a user may want a nice surface finish and 3D print a layer of 50um around the surfaces and on the inside 3D print 200um or higher where surface finish is not an issue, this hack increases the speed of the print.

Fiber Directions

Competitors’ slicing software has the option for linear or concentric printing of continuous fibers.

Anisoprint Aura software gives the user the option for a combination of:

Linear
Concentric (with an option to choose separately, concentric fibers for inner and outer perimeters)
Curvilinear trajectories
Lattices

These combinations provide users with the flexibility to lay fibers in the right directions giving maximum strength and directional force.

Lattices

The ability to 3D print various lattice structures with continuous fiber gives parts strength in the right places, speed to print and lighter parts, providing load distribution along the 1D ribs, making the part 2-3x stronger compared to the one with plastic lattices. Compared to printing on a competitor’s machine that cannot print continuous fiber lattices such part will also be lighter.

Anisoprint provides users with flexible options for lattice patterns:

Solid
Rhombic
Isogrid
anisogrid

Fiber printing (Microns)

Aura allows 3D printing of continuous fibers of up to 350um whereas the competing 3D printing systems only 3D print up to 200um.

Desktop Composite Continuous Fiber 3D Printers

Using stepper motors, the desktop range from Anisoprint provide large print volumes:

Anisoprint Composer A4: 297x210x140mm
Anisoprint Composer A3: 460x297x210mm

Industrial Continuous Fiber Composite 3D Printers

When it comes to industrial application, Anisoprint has a true industrial printer with industrial level components, designed for 24/7 production to print 60cc p/hr of continuous carbon fiber with a max travel speed of 20,000 mm per minute:

PLC Based BOSCH Rexroth XM42 controller
Servo motors with brakes
Industrial automation
Safety and sensors
Liquid cooling
400 degrees max. extruder temp to 3D print thermoplastics such as PEEK and PEI
160-degree heated chamber
Build volume: 600x420x300mm
Tool changer for 4 extruders
Material dryer
Server-based software

Competitive Comparison Matrix - Continuous Fiber 3D Printers

	Anisoprint Desktop Composer	Competitor Desktop
Build Volume	A4: 297x210x140mm - 25% larger build volume than competitor A3: 460x297x210mm - 77% larger build volume than competitor	320x132x154mm
Base Filaments (Matrix)
Open material system	Yes	No
Continuous Fibers
Continuous carbon fiber	Yes	Yes
Continuous basalt fiber	Yes	No
Continuous aramid fiber	No	Yes
Continuous fibreglass fiber	No	Yes
Variable Fiber to Volume Ratio	Yes	No
Fiber to volume Ratio	Up to 60%	28%
Layer Resolution
Resolution (microns)	36 to 360	100 to 200
Adaptive Layer Resolution	Yes	No
Continuous Fiber Directions
Linear Trajectories	Yes	Yes
Concentric Trajectories	Yes	Yes
Rhombic Lattice Structures	Yes	No
Isogrid Lattice Structures	Yes	No
Anisogrid Lattice Structures	Yes	No
Curvlinear Trajectories	Yes	No
Combination of Trajectories	Yes	No
Combination of Linear, Curvlinear, and Concentric Trajectories	Yes	No
Combination of Trajectories and Lattices	Yes	No
Slicing Software
Masks	Yes	No
Support Blockers	Yes	No
Support Enforcer	Yes	No
Headless Mode (CLI)	Yes	No
Export G-Code	Yes	No

	Anisoprint Industrial Prom IS 500	Competitor Industrial
Build Volume	600x420x300 - 78% larger build volume than competitor	330x270x200mm
Servo Motors	Yes	No
Tool Changer	Yes	No
Base Filament Extruders	4	1
Liquid Cooled Extruder	Yes	No
Max temperature of 400 degrees	Yes	No
Heated Build Chamber	Yes	No
Material Dryer	Yes	No
Safety Sensors	Yes	No
Laser Scanning	No	Yes
Base Filaments (Matrix)
Open material system	Yes	No
Continuous Fibers
Continuous carbon fiber	Yes	Yes
Continuous basalt fiber	Yes	No
Continuous kevlar fiber	No	Yes
Continuous fibreglass fiber	No	Yes
Variable Fiber to Volume Ratio	Yes	No
Fiber to volume Ratio	Up to 60%	28%
Layer Resolution
Resolution (microns)	60 to 350	50 to 200
Adaptive Layer Resolution	Yes	No
Continuous Fiber Directions
Linear Trajectories	Yes	Yes
Concentric Trajectories	Yes	Yes
Rhombic Lattice Structures	Yes	No
Isogrid Lattice Structures	Yes	No
Anisogrid Lattice Structures	Yes	No
Curvlinear Trajectories	Yes	No
Combination of Trajectories	Yes	No
Combination of Linear, Curvlinear, and Concentric Trajectories	Yes	No
Combination of Trajectories and Lattices	Yes	No
Slicing Software
Masks	Yes	No
Support Blockers	Yes	No
Support Enforcer	Yes	No
Headless Mode (CLI)	Yes	No
Export G-Code	Yes	No

Conclusion

While on the surface, composite 3D printers seem to be the same and do similar functions, when you look at the extrusion hardware and slicing software in the desktop range and the motors and other components in the industrial range, differences are quite contrast.

If you are looking for greater continuous fiber choices, then Anisoprint may not be the right fit, however, the fact that it can use any base plastic, whether it be rigid or flexible, offers greater choice and eliminates the need for a wider range of continuous fiber.

The Anisoprinting system gives the user basic settings like the competition to simply print and go, or for advanced use, the freedom and the ability to manipulate the direction of fibers, lattice structures to produce lighter parts and the choice in the right base filament to fit the desired application with a bigger build volume to print larger parts.

In the industrial range, the Prom is a true industrial size and built for 24×7 use with 4x tool changers and servi motors, while the alternative is small and doesn’t use the same industrial components but compensates with a laser scanning tool.

All composite 3D printers with continuous fiber will give you strong, lightweight parts that rival replacing metal, it’s just that the Anisoprint has the hardware and software to be to steer the continuous fibers with greater flexibility, which caters to the benefits of composite fiber manufacturing.

Contact Us

If you would learn more about Anisoprint, please contact us by calling on 1800 490 514, by filling out the form or clicking the live chat in the bottom right-hand corner.

Polymaker 3D Printer FDM Filament

Professional and Industrial Grade 3D Printer FDM Filament and Hardware

Polymaker is an international team passionate about 3D printing who produce the very best 3D printing materials by controlling every stage of production. With a diverse portfolio of materials ranging from high performance plastics to unique aesthetic solutions, Polymaker continues to add cutting edge materials to its ever-growing portfolio.

Choose from a Range of Hardware and Filament Categories

Polymaker Hardware family offers 3D printing accessories to optimize the user experience with their filaments.

Polybox - Dry Storage Box

PolyBox™ is a dry storage box designed to provide the optimum environment for 3D printing filaments. The PolyBox™ is compatible with all 3D printers and can house two 1kg spools or one 3kg spool.

Polysher - Removes Layer Lines

The Polysher™ is a desktop post processing unit designed to remove layer lines from PolySmooth™ and PolyCast™ prints. The Polysher™ uses Polymaker’s Layer-Free™ technology to create a fine mist of alcohol which evenly smooths the model.

PolyDissolve™ is a family of dissolvable support filaments. This family offers support solution for our portfolio of filaments. It enables a greater design freedom.

PolyDissolve™ S1

PolyDissolve™ S1 is a water dissolvable support for PLA, TPU, PVB and Nylon based filaments from our portfolio. It is specifically engineered to have a perfect interface with these materials while also displaying good solubility.

PolyDissolve™ S2

PolyDissolve™ S2 is a dissolvable support for PC, ABS and ASA based filaments from our portfolio. It is specifically engineered to have a perfect interface with these materials while also displaying good solubility.

PolyFlex™ is a family of high-quality flexible materials. It provides the perfect solution for applications where high flexibility and durability are required.

PolyFlex™ TPU95

PolyFlex™ TPU95 is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) based filament specifically engineered to work on most desktop 3D printers. It has a shore hardness of 95A and can stretch more than 3 times its original length.

PolyFlex™ TPU90

PolyFlex™️ TPU90, created from Covestro’s Addigy®️ family, is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) based filament designed to provide great flexibility without compromising on printing speed. It also has the ability to resist ultra-violet (UV) light or sunlight.

PolyFlex™ TPU95-HF

PolyFlex™ TPU95-HF, created from Covestro’s Addigy®️ family, is a TPU with high flow properties making it ideal for high speed printing. Combined with its UV resistance, PolyFlex™ TPU95-HF unlocks new applications for flexible materials in manufacturing.

PolyLite™ is a family of 3D printing filaments made with the best raw materials to deliver exceptional quality and reliability. PolyLite™ covers the most popular 3D printing materials to meet your everyday needs in design and prototyping.

PolyLite™ PLA

PolyLite™ PLA is a high-quality PLA designed for reliability and ease of printing.

PolyLite™ ABS

PolyLite™ ABS is made with a specialty bulk-polymerized ABS resin, which has significantly lower volatile content compared to traditional ABS resins. It delivers excellent printing quality with minimal odor during printing.

PolyLite™ PETG

PolyLite™ PETG is an affordable PETG filament with balanced mechanical properties and ease of printing.

PolyLite™ PC

PolyLite™ PC is produced using a polycarbonate resin specifically engineered for 3D printing. It delivers good stiffness and heat resistance with light diffusing properties.

PolyLite™ ASA

PolyLite™ ASA is an alternative to ABS with an improved weather resistance. Its UV resistance and excellent mechanical properties make it the perfect choice for real life application.

PolyMax™ is a family of advanced 3D printing filaments produced with Polymaker’s Nano-reinforcement technology, to deliver exceptional mechanical properties and printing quality.

PolyMax™ PLA

PolyMax™ PLA is an incredibly easy-to-print filament with improved mechanical properties, making it an excellent alternative to ABS.

PolyMax™ PC

PolyMax™ PC is an engineered PC filament combining excellent strength, toughness, heat resistance and printing quality. It is the ideal choice for a wide range of engineering applications.

PolyMax™ PETG

PolyMax™ PETG offers better mechanical properties than any other regular PETG making it a good candidate for a wide range of applications.

PolyMax™ PC-FR

PolyMax™ PC-FR, creation from Covestro’s Makrolon® family, could achieve V0 performance in the UL94 flame retardancy test and displays excellent toughness, strength and heat resistance. This filament opens new applications in the automotive, railway and aerospace industries.

PolyMide™ is a family of Nylon/polyamide based filaments. Produced with Polymaker’s Warp-Free™ technology, PolyMide™ filaments deliver engineering properties intrinsic to Nylon and ease of printing.

PolyMide™ CoPA

PolyMide™ CoPA is based on a copolymer of Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6. The filament combines excellent strength, toughness, and heat resistance of up to 180˚C.

PolyMide™ PA6-CF

PolyMide™ PA6-CF is a carbon fiber reinforced PA6 (Nylon 6) filament. The carbon fiber reinforcement provides significantly improved stiffness, strength and heat resistance with outstanding layer adhesion.

PolyMide™ PA6-GF

PolyMide™ PA6-GF is a glass fiber reinforced PA6 (Nylon 6) filament. The material exhibits excellent thermal and mechanical properties without sacrificing the layer adhesion.

PolyMide™ PA12-CF

PolyMide™️ PA12-CF is a carbon fiber reinforced PA12 (Nylon 12) filament. Thanks to the low moisture sensitivity of PA12, this product features outstanding mechanical and thermal properties even after the moisture conditioning process. Combined with its ease of print with Warp-Free™️ technology, this product is ideal to create manufacturing tools.

This Specialty family provides unique filaments from Polymaker to unlock new 3D printing applications.

PolyWood™

PolyWood™ is a wood mimic filament without actual wood powder, which removes all risks of nozzle clogs. PolyWood™ is made entirely with PLA using a special foaming technology. It exhibits the same density and appearance as wood.

PolySmooth™

PolySmooth™ is a unique, easy-to-print filament designed for hands-free post processing. The surface can be smoothed with alcohol to achieve layer free models using the Polysher™.

PolySupport™

PolySupport™ is a break away support for Polymaker PLA based filaments. It has a perfect interface with PLA, strong enough to support it and easily removable by hand.

PolyCast™

PolyCast™ is a filament designed to produce investment patterns for investment casting applications. 3D printing significantly cuts down both the cost and lead time by eliminating the tooling process.

Get In Touch

If you would learn more about Polymaker filaments, please contact us by calling on 1800 490 514, by filling out the form or clicking the live chat in the bottom right-hand corner.

Anisoprint Case Studies

Choose a case study below to learn more about the part material properties, print times and cost to print.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	2 COMPOSITE OUTER PERIMETERS, 40% COMPOSITE ISOGRID INFILL
PLASTIC	PETG
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	25 G
PRINT TIME	6 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CM³	~$0.68 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$14.00 AUD

Level for Para-Athlete Driver

Para-athlete diver, Dimitry Pavlenko uses Anisoprint parts for an estimated 10x longer lifespan and superior strength.

Dmitry needed a lever to control air inflation and release for maintaining buoyancy and manoeuvrability. Usually, he used a spoon from steel as a lever. It was broken after the 10th dive.

He tried 3D printing and a new lever in ABS was printed, however, became defective also after the 10th dive and unusable.

To increase the lifespan of the part, a new part was designed and printed on an Anisoprint Composer 3D printer from PETG and reinforced with Composite Carbon Fiber.

Using the Anisoprinted lever, Dimitry made a 40m deep, unassisted dive in open sea and set a new world record.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	3 COMPOSITE OUTER PERIMETERS, 3 COMPOSITE INNER PERIMETERS
PLASTIC	PETG
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	32 G
PRINT TIME	3.5 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CM³	~$0.93 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$21.00 AUD

Electric Wheelchair Fixture

A fixture for an electric wheelchair was anisoprinted in-house 7x lighter, 12x faster and 3x cheaper than the original outsourced part from steel.

Supreme Motors produces UNA Wheel — an electric wheelchair for long distances. The original fixture was made from steel and was too expensive to manufacture it in small batches, with every unit costing over AUD$155.

The turned to 3D printing and found a high-performance plastic, Ultem. The part was 5x lighter, cheaper to make and the most importantly, the company could manufacture the fixtures in-house instead of outsourcing it and spending resources, however, the part 3D printed from Ultem failed stress tests and was not durable enough for application.

Supreme Motors looked for a stronger 3D printing solution and came across anisoprinting. The fixture was made from PETG plastic reinforced with Composite Carbon Fiber (CCF) was printed on an Anisoprint Composer continuous fiber 3D printer.

	Steel	Anisoprint (PETG + CONTINUOUS CARBON FIBRE)
Weight	300g	41g
Production time	48 hours	4 hours
Production stages	3	1
Price	AUD$150	AUD$40

Under stress testing, the anisoprint withstood a dynamic load of 117kg, although being 7x lighter and 3x cheaper to produce than the traditional steel part. In addition to being able to print more durable parts, Supreme Motors can produce a part in 4 hours instead of 48 hours.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	3 COMPOSITE OUTER PERIMETERS, 3 COMPOSITE INNER PERIMETERS
PLASTIC	PETG
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	41 G
PRINT TIME	4 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CM³	~$1.27 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$40.00 AUD

Self-Sensing Composite for Monitoring Critical Sructures

Brightlands Materials Center, a research center based in Netherlands, has developed 3D printed composite parts with self-sensing functionality using Anisoprint. Self-sensing provides the opportunity to monitor critical structures in aerospace, construction and healthcare industries.

What is Self-Sensing?

Self-sensing is the ability of a material to sense its own condition, whereby the material itself, is used as a sensor. Polymer-matrix composites, containing continuous carbon fiber, are known materials that have self-sensing capabilities based on measurable changes in electrical resistance of the continuous fibers. The practical importance of such products is in structural health monitoring in airplanes or critical parts in construction such as bridges.

Usually, self-sensing material is made with traditional composite manufacturing techniques that are complex and require several-stages and processes made with special equipment.

Brightlands Materials Center is combining the self-sensing of continuous fiber with the fabrication of composites by anisoprinting to make self-sensing more effective.

In their research, the results were discovered by monitoring deformation in a simple bending beam in a scale model of a pedestrian composite bridge.

For sensing it’s crucial to have full freedom that a carbon fiber layout gives because it has to stick out of the part to be able to make connections to the monitoring electronic hardware.

The Anisoprint open system gives the possibility of precise positioning and orientation of carbon fibers. The carbon fibers are placed at chosen locations inside the product that form an integral part of the structure. This means that the carbon fiber “sensors” are located where they are needed, and multiple fibers can form a range of sensors throughout the part.

“As a materials research centre working on continuous fiber additive manufacturing we need flexibility with respect to the materials and fiber layouts that we can use on a 3D printer.

The Anisoprint Composers offer that flexibility enabling us to support our industrial customers to develop innovative fiber reinforced thermoplastic applications”.

– Richard Janssen, Business Developer of Brightlands Materials Center.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	2 COMPOSITE OUTER PERIMETERS
PLASTIC	PETG
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
PRINT TIME	35 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CM³	~$1.10 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$158.00 AUD

Anisoprint Filament Winding Machine Roller

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	3 COMPOSITE OUTER PERIMETERS, 3 COMPOSITE INNER PERIMETERS
PLASTIC	PETG
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	41 G
PRINT TIME	4 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CM³	~$1.27 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$40.00 AUD

Continuous Carbon Fibre Reinforced Soft Jaws

Unique shapes with a 35% weight reduction and 40% lower manufacturing costs.

Operation on a lathe requires special attention to tooling. In cases when parts have complex shapes, thin walls, or are made of soft alloys, standard equipment can damage the surface and leave cracks on it.

Conventional tooling can crumple thin-walled parts because the clamping force is difficult to adjust. Parts such as asymmetrical profiles are very hard to clamp with standard jaws or cams: you either have to spoil and sharpen the cams or waste time and insert a row of liners, then centre the part in the machine.
To solve these problems, WEBER LABS turned to anisoprinting.

Weber Labs handles the full cycle of technological part production from model, development, calculations to manufacturing. Quite often these parts are small-scale and non-standard.

The soft-jaws produced need to have a specific purpose, in this case, turning a set of stator plates for an electric motor.

Weber Labs highlighted several advantages of Anisoprinted Tooling after testing:

Plastics jaws are more flexible than metal ones and when clamped, hold a workpiece more tightly, which helps control the clamping force more precisely and process parts that require careful handling.
On older machines, the placement of where the cams fit into wears out, and during operation, the tools leave noticeable traces on apart due to backlash and requires several finishing passes to clean up.
Due to its plasticity, soft jaws made from plastic provide better contact, not only minimises the number of finishing passes but also reduces vibration.

	CNC METAL	ANISOPRINTING
Weight	600g	251g
Price	AUD$175.00	AUD$70.00

The composite jaws were printed on the Anisoprint Composer 3D printer from Smooth PA plastic reinforced with continuous fibers. Anisoprinted jaws are nearly three times as light as metal ones: 251g vs 600g.

The part is 40% cheaper and 35% lighter, than the metal equivalent. Such cams are less durable and cannot be used for holding large parts, however, this is non-standard tooling. Plastic jaws without reinforcement need to be changed after a few cycles of work, while reinforced 3D printed parts showed durability in more than 15 operation cycles.

Typically, production times for these cams is 29 hours. The outer plastic layer is 1.2mm thick, printed with SMOOTH PA, which is a carbon fiber filled plastic with excellent wear resistance.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	5 COMPOSITE OUTER PERIMETERS, 50% COMPOSITE ISOGRID INFILL
PLASTIC	SMOOTH PA
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	251 G
PRINT TIME	29 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CM³	~$1.55 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$100.00 AUD

Composite Tool for Turbine Blade Production

8x weight reduction and 40% cost savings.

Shovel machines are used to convert mechanical motion into kinetic energy of a liquid or gas. They are used in impellers, turbines, turbopump units, fans, etc. It’s necessary to change the cross-section, thickness and inclination angle in different zones of the blade for higher efficiency. Metal stamps are traditionally used as tools for producing such blades since they have a complex shape. Different blade shapes require different stamps that in case of metal tools leads to a significant amount of cost and time..

Weight and cost of the tool can be dramatically reduced if it’s produced from composite materials using anisoprinting technology.

400 BAR PRESSURE	METAL	ANISOPRINTED COMPOSITE (Smooth PA + CBF)	SAVINGS
Weight	600g	251g	87%
Price	AUD$175.00	AUD$70.00	40%

Continuous fiber 3D printing decreases the tool’s weight 8xthat allows using cheaper equipment and operating it easier.

At the same time, there is a 40% cost reduction in comparison to the metal part withstanding the same strength.

Moreover, when printing tools on the Anisoprint Composer continuous composite 3D printer you know the exact date when you get the part without spending any time communicating with 3rd parties you outsource your machined parts to.


PLASTIC	SMOOTH PA
FIBER	COMPOSITE BASALT FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	3500 G
PRINT TIME	340 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$955.00 AUD

Composite Rocker for a Downhill Bike

40% reduction in manufacturing costs, 35% reduction in weight with smart load-orientated reinforcement.

Due to extremal operation conditions, downhill bikes should withstand significant loads, and one of the keys to this is a reliable suspension.

The rocker is an element in a suspension that obtains flexural loads while riding a bike. It’s often produced from metal by CNC technology (milling) that gives enough strength but is expensive. Continuous fiber 3D printing is a good opportunity to get the part of the same strength but reducing the cost and at th same time, the weight, which in sports, is always a good thing.

The composite rocker was printed on the Anisoprint Composer 3D printer from Smooth PA plastic reinforced with continuous fibers. The part withstands the same loads as metal one, however, is 40% cheaper to make and 35% lighter..

On this kind of bike, the components that could be also manufactured with anisoprinting are the front fork clamp and the pedal crank. Combining a 30% of weight reduction on each of these components, it’s possible to achieve at least a 1000g reduction, depending on the geometry of each part.

	METAL	ANISOPRINTED COMPOSITE (SMOOTH PA + CBF)
Weight	500g	325g
Price	AUD$590.00	AUD$390.00

One of the most important advantages of anisoprinting is its capability to produce parts with the smart load-oriented reinforcement.

The rocker is reinforced in accordance with the expected loads using only the required amount of material. In contrast with milling, you get lots of waste that also has an impact on the overall manufacturing costs.

“One important aspect of using 3D printing in this business is to have the possibility to customize each frame on riders requirement.

It’s quite important because to be cost-competitive even if the frame is hand made, manufacturers need to keep some area of the CF frame standard and then adapt the frame on linear sections. In this way, bike manufacturers would have more flexibility in their bikes.”

— Filippo Pagnani, CEO of Prototipa Design, Italy

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	10 COMPOSITE PERIMETERS, 80% COMPOSITE ISOGRID INFILL
PLASTIC	SMOOTH PA
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	325 G
PRINT TIME	100 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$390.00 AUD

Clevis for Dairy Production Line

Production downtime reduced from 3 months to 6 hours. 3D Anisoprinted clevis has longer lifespan due to resistance to peroxide hydrogen.

A dairy brand company uses a clevis fixture at the production line. The clevis moves through, catches a yoghurt bottle and sends it to the washing area. The part is washed with peroxide hydrogen. The original part is made from milled polyamide, replacing a destroyed one takes 3 months due to ordering from a third-party. During this time, the production line fully stops: the company doesn’t get enough sales volume and suffers losses.

The part printed on Anisoprint Composer reduced production downtime from 3 months to 6 hours. It was made from PETG, which is resistant to peroxide plastic, and then reinforced with continuous carbon fiber by using anisoprinting technology. Due to the peroxide resistance, the lifespan of the clevis’ increased.

Anisoprinting technology allows using any plastic as a matrix, so it’s possible to get composites with continuous fibers with the chemical properties you need for the application.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	3 COMPOSITE PERIMETERS
PLASTIC	PET G
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	35.2 G
PRINT TIME	6 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CC	~$1.12 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$31.00 AUD

Legs for Mobile Robot used for Sensing, Inspection and Remote Operation

By Anisoprinting robotic legs, MSU were able to reduce weight by 70% and lower manufacturing costs by 40%.

In the Institute of Mechanics of MSU a mobile robot — an analogue of BostonDynamics Spot was developed.

Autonomous operation requires energy which depends on the robot’s weight. Some of the components of the robot can be produced from composites with continuous fibers. It noticeably reduces the weight and allows robot to work longer without charge.

That’s the strategy the developers chose for their robot was to make it more functional.

For this robot as for any other innovative development, it’s very important to have flexibility in terms of design changes. Traditional manufacturing technologies can’t provide the freedom to change a prototype with many iterations without a significant time and money, however, with 3D printing, it can.

With Anisoprint technology, you can easily set fiber laying paths and infill density in their special slicing software, Aura, to make the part more or less stronger according to results of the field tests.

With the possibility of changing prototypes anytime without spending a significant amount of time and money, the team reduced manufacturing costs by 40% in comparison to milling the part from Aluminium, which requires significantly more effort to redesign a part iteration.

To make the robot work longer, it’s necessary to reduce its weight as much as possible. Using anisoprinting it’s feasible to get the part of the same strength and stiffness characteristics but 70% lighter than the metal analogue.

	ALUMINIUM	ANISOPRINTED COMPOSITE (SMOOTH PA + CCF)	SAVINGS
Weight	1225g	350g	70%
Price	AUD$715.00	AUD$400.00	40%

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	3 OUTER COMPOSITE PERIMETERS, 3 INNER COMPOSITE PERMITERS, 50% COMPOSITE ISOGRID INFILL
PLASTIC	SMOOTH PA
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	350 G
PRINT TIME	144 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CC	~$3.42 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$400.00 AUD

Parts with Holes (Kirsch Problem)

This experimental sample with a hole was reinforced without increasing its weight, while maintaining uniform stress distribution.

The fiber steering plate is an experimental demonstration of the method where anisoprinting an efficient reinforcement design of parts with the holes.

Holes are stress concentrators, significantly reducing the strength of structural elements. Traditionally, to increase the strength of an element, a part thickness is enhanced which leads to increasing the weight of the part.

The part can be reinforced by using curvilinear trajectories that suit the load distribution and this type of reinforcement doesn’t require an increase in weight and only possible with a special approach to fiber laying from Anisoprint.


PLASTIC	PET G
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	50 G
PRINT TIME	7 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CC	~$0.62 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$26.00 AUD

Aircraft Seat Support

An Airplanes lifetime cost was reduced through a 40% weight reduction of an anisoprinted aircraft seat support

Aircraft seat support bears 1.5 tons of load. The original part is made from aluminum and weighs 400g. We’ve anisoprinted a new part on Composer A4 3D printer with a 40% weight reduction.

With 100 such seat supports in an average single-aisle passenger plane, this weight reduction can add up to saving 25 kg per plane. In such fields as aerospace every kilo matters. Cost of fuel for every kilo in an airplane is $2000 a year and by just reducing the seat support, would save $50,000 a year, per plane.

REINFORCEMENT SCHEME	10 COMPOSITE PERIMETERS
PLASTIC	PETG
FIBER	COMPOSITE CARBON FIBER (CCF)
WEIGHT	250 G
PRINT TIME	40 HOURS
MATERIALS COST, PER CC	~$2.00 AUD
MATERIALS COST, TOTAL	~$412.00 AUD

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If you would learn more about Anisoprinting, please contact us by calling on 1800 490 514, by filling out the form or clicking the live chat in the bottom right-hand corner.

Copper3D achieves important validation against Human Coronavirus

November 16, 2020

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| 3D Printers, Copper3D

Copper3D, a pioneer company inantimicrobial materials for the 3D printing industry, has had a very intense 2020, in a period that has been dominated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with a global effort to find effective solutions to protect ourselves from this virus, as well as hundreds of other microorganisms dangerous to humans. Copper3D has been working in infectious control development well before the Coronavirus pandemic began, having been founded in January 2018 in Santiago, Chile, the world’s biggest producer of copper and an expert nation in antimicrobial solutions based on this element.

Read the full press release here on how Copper3D is being used in the fight against Coronavirus

Design Consulting specialises in supplying 3D printers and Autodesk CAD software.

For pricing on Copper3D filament, please visit our shop

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If you would like more information on Copper3D filament, please contact us by calling on 1800 490 514, by filling out the form or clicking the live chat in the bottom right-hand corner.

3D Printer Review: Battle of Continuous Fiber Composites

Composite Manufacturing

3D Printer Fiber Extrusion Methods

Composite Co-Extrusion

Materials

Aura Slicing Software

Masking

Layer Thickness

Fiber Directions

Lattices

Fiber printing (Microns)

Desktop Composite Continuous Fiber 3D Printers

Industrial Continuous Fiber Composite 3D Printers

Competitive Comparison Matrix - Continuous Fiber 3D Printers

Conclusion

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Professional and Industrial Grade 3D Printer FDM Filament and Hardware

Choose from a Range of Hardware and Filament Categories

Polybox - Dry Storage Box

Polysher - Removes Layer Lines

PolyDissolve™ S1

PolyDissolve™ S2

PolyFlex™ TPU95

PolyFlex™ TPU90

PolyFlex™ TPU95-HF

PolyLite™ PLA

PolyLite™ ABS

PolyLite™ PETG

PolyLite™ PC

PolyLite™ ASA

PolyMax™ PLA

PolyMax™ PC

PolyMax™ PETG

PolyMax™ PC-FR

PolyMide™ CoPA

PolyMide™ PA6-CF

PolyMide™ PA6-GF

PolyMide™ PA12-CF

PolyWood™

PolySmooth™

PolySupport™

PolyCast™

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If you would learn more about Polymaker filaments, please contact us by calling on 1800 490 514, by filling out the form or clicking the live chat in the bottom right-hand corner.

Anisoprint Case Studies

Choose a case study below to learn more about the part material properties, print times and cost to print.

Wall Bracket

Level for Para-Athlete Driver

Para-athlete diver, Dimitry Pavlenko uses Anisoprint parts for an estimated 10x longer lifespan and superior strength.

Electric Wheelchair Fixture

A fixture for an electric wheelchair was anisoprinted in-house 7x lighter, 12x faster and 3x cheaper than the original outsourced part from steel.

Under stress testing, the anisoprint withstood a dynamic load of 117kg, although being 7x lighter and 3x cheaper to produce than the traditional steel part. In addition to being able to print more durable parts, Supreme Motors can produce a part in 4 hours instead of 48 hours.

Self-Sensing Composite for Monitoring Critical Sructures

Brightlands Materials Center, a research center based in Netherlands, has developed 3D printed composite parts with self-sensing functionality using Anisoprint. Self-sensing provides the opportunity to monitor critical structures in aerospace, construction and healthcare industries.

What is Self-Sensing?

Anisoprint Filament Winding Machine Roller

Continuous Carbon Fibre Reinforced Soft Jaws

Unique shapes with a 35% weight reduction and 40% lower manufacturing costs.

Weber Labs handles the full cycle of technological part production from model, development, calculations to manufacturing. Quite often these parts are small-scale and non-standard.

The soft-jaws produced need to have a specific purpose, in this case, turning a set of stator plates for an electric motor.

Composite Tool for Turbine Blade Production

8x weight reduction and 40% cost savings.

Composite Rocker for a Downhill Bike

40% reduction in manufacturing costs, 35% reduction in weight with smart load-orientated reinforcement.

One of the most important advantages of anisoprinting is its capability to produce parts with the smart load-oriented reinforcement.

Clevis for Dairy Production Line

Production downtime reduced from 3 months to 6 hours. 3D Anisoprinted clevis has longer lifespan due to resistance to peroxide hydrogen.

Legs for Mobile Robot used for Sensing, Inspection and Remote Operation

By Anisoprinting robotic legs, MSU were able to reduce weight by 70% and lower manufacturing costs by 40%.

Parts with Holes (Kirsch Problem)

This experimental sample with a hole was reinforced without increasing its weight, while maintaining uniform stress distribution.

Aircraft Seat Support

An Airplanes lifetime cost was reduced through a 40% weight reduction of an anisoprinted aircraft seat support

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