Carbon fiber printing method

Abstract

The invention relates to a carbon fiber printing method, and belongs to the technical field of 3D printing. S1, printing equipment is prepared; s2, designing a model; s3, data conversion; s4, performing slicing treatment; s5, preparing a printing material: loading the composite filament material containing the short carbon fibers into a tray of a 3D printer, and ensuring smooth feeding; s6, printing parameters are set; s7, layer-by-layer deposition: heating a nozzle to a proper temperature by a printer, melting the composite filament material and extruding the composite filament material onto a construction platform layer by layer, quickly cooling and solidifying each layer of material after deposition to form a thin layer with a contour shape, and adhering the thin layer to the upper layer; s8, a supporting structure is arranged; s9, printing and forming; and S10, processing after printing. The carbon fiber printing method provided by the invention is an advanced manufacturing technology combining the carbon fiber reinforcement effect and the advantages of the FDM technology, and through reasonable material selection, printing parameter setting and a post-treatment process, a carbon fiber part with high strength, high rigidity and good surface quality can be manufactured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a carbon fiber printing method and belongs to the technical field of 3D printing. Background Art

[0002] With the increasing development of 3D printing technology and the application of 3D printing molding technology, 3D printing materials are also changing with each passing day, covering almost most of the traditional plastic materials, including monomer materials, composite materials, alloy materials, and modified materials. Among them, carbon fiber materials are the subject of multiple research.

[0003] The existing carbon fiber printing methods on the market, although equipped with carbon fiber 3D printing material wires, often fail to effectively combine the carbon fiber reinforcement effect and FDM technology advantages during printing, and the material selection, printing parameter setting and post-processing process are not reasonable enough, making it difficult to effectively manufacture carbon fiber parts with high strength, high stiffness and good surface quality. Based on this, the present invention provides a carbon fiber printing method. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a carbon fiber printing method, which combines the advanced manufacturing technology of carbon fiber reinforcement effect and FDM technology advantages, and can manufacture carbon fiber parts with high strength, high stiffness and good surface quality through reasonable material selection, printing parameter setting and post-processing process.

[0005] The present invention provides a carbon fiber printing method, and the proposed technical solution is: comprising the following steps:

[0006] S1: Printing equipment preparation: 3D printer: a 3D printer that supports FDM technology, equipped with a heating nozzle and a building platform; Extruder: responsible for feeding the composite filament material into the heating nozzle and controlling the extrusion speed and amount of the material;

[0007] S2: Model design: Use computer-aided CAD design software to create or obtain the required three-dimensional data model;

[0008] S3: Data conversion: convert the CAD model into an STL format file that can be recognized by the 3D printer;

[0009] S4: Slicing: Use slicing software to slice the 3D model in STL format into a series of two-dimensional slices;

[0010] S5: Printing material preparation: Load the composite filament material containing short carbon fibers into the material tray of the 3D printer and ensure smooth material feeding;

[0011] S6: Setting printing parameters: adjusting and optimizing according to specific materials and models, setting the heating nozzle temperature, forming chamber temperature, and printing speed;

[0012] S7: Layer-by-layer deposition: The printer heats the nozzle to a suitable temperature, melts the composite filament material and extrude it onto the building platform layer by layer. Each layer of material is rapidly cooled and solidified after deposition, forming a thin layer with a contour shape and bonded to the previous layer. As printing progresses, the building platform will gradually reduce the thickness of a thin layer to start printing the next layer;

[0013] S8: Setting support structure: adding support structure to support the suspended part as needed during the printing process to ensure stability and accuracy during the printing process;

[0014] S9: Printing: After printing a certain number of layers, the 3D printer is paused, the extruder stops feeding the composite filament material into the heating nozzle, and the heating nozzle stops ejecting the composite material;

[0015] S10: Post-printing processing: After printing is completed, the support structure is removed, the printed part is sanded and polished, and the printed part is dyed and painted as needed.

[0016] Furthermore, in step S1, the 3D printer is equipped with a heating nozzle and a building platform to ensure the melting and deposition of the material.

[0017] Furthermore, the three-dimensional data model in step S2 includes geometric shape, size and structural information of the object to be printed.

[0018] Furthermore, the STL format file in step S3 contains the surface information of the model, which is used for subsequent slicing processing.

[0019] Furthermore, in step S4, the slicing software will automatically calculate the cross-sectional information of the model, and the thickness of each layer is usually between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm.

[0020] Furthermore, in step S5, the short carbon fibers are uniformly dispersed in the matrix material to form a composite filament material, the length of the short carbon fibers is less than 1 mm, and the matrix material is ABS or PLA thermoplastic.

[0021] Furthermore, the support structure in step S10 needs to be removed after printing is completed, and care needs to be taken not to damage the model.

[0022] Furthermore, the grinding and polishing of the printed part in step S10 is used to eliminate the roughness and layer patterns on the surface and improve the accuracy and aesthetics of the model.

[0023] Furthermore, the dyeing and painting surface treatment of the printed part in step S10 is used to further improve its appearance and texture.

[0024] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0025] The carbon fiber printing method provided by the present invention is an advanced manufacturing technology that combines the carbon fiber reinforcement effect and the advantages of FDM technology. Through reasonable material selection, printing parameter setting and post-processing process, carbon fiber parts with high strength, high stiffness and good surface quality can be manufactured. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.

[0027] The present invention provides a carbon fiber printing method, which comprises the following steps:

[0028] S1: Printing equipment preparation: 3D printer: a 3D printer that supports FDM technology. The 3D printer has a heating nozzle and a building platform to ensure the melting and deposition of materials. Not all FDM 3D printers support the printing of short carbon fibers. When choosing a printer, you need to confirm whether it supports composite filament materials containing short carbon fibers; Extruder: responsible for feeding the composite filament material into the heating nozzle and controlling the extrusion speed and amount of the material;

[0029] S2: Model design: Use computer-aided CAD design software to create or obtain the required three-dimensional data model, which includes the geometric shape, size and structural information of the object to be printed;

[0030] S3: Data conversion: Convert the CAD model into an STL format file that can be recognized by the 3D printer. The STL format file contains the surface information of the model for subsequent slicing processing;

[0031] S4: Slicing: Use slicing software to slice the 3D model in STL format into a series of two-dimensional slices. The slicing software will automatically calculate the cross-sectional information of the model. The thickness of each layer is usually between 0.1mm and 0.5mm.

[0032] S5: Printing material preparation: Load the composite filament material containing short carbon fibers into the material tray of the 3D printer and ensure smooth feeding. Short carbon fibers are usually evenly dispersed in the matrix material, such as thermoplastics such as ABS or PLA, to form composite filament materials. These composite filament materials contain the reinforcement effect of short carbon fibers and maintain the printability of thermoplastics. The length of short carbon fibers is usually less than 1 mm. The choice of fiber length will affect the mechanical properties of the print and the stability of the printing process.

[0033] S6: Setting printing parameters: adjusting and optimizing according to specific materials and models, setting the heating nozzle temperature, forming chamber temperature, and printing speed;

[0034] S7: Layer-by-layer deposition: The printer heats the nozzle to a suitable temperature, melts the composite filament material and extrude it onto the building platform layer by layer. Each layer of material is rapidly cooled and solidified after deposition, forming a thin layer with a contour shape and bonded to the previous layer. As printing progresses, the building platform will gradually reduce the thickness of a thin layer to start printing the next layer;

[0035] S8: Setting support structure: adding support structure to support the suspended part as needed during the printing process to ensure stability and accuracy during the printing process;

[0036] S9: Printing: After printing a certain number of layers, the 3D printer is paused, the extruder stops feeding the composite filament material into the heating nozzle, and the heating nozzle stops ejecting the composite material;

[0037] S10: Post-printing processing: Removing support structures: After printing is completed, first remove the added support structures. These structures can be easily removed by hand or using tools, but care should be taken not to damage the model; Grinding and polishing: Grind and polish the prints to eliminate surface roughness and layer patterns, and improve the accuracy and aesthetics of the model; Other post-processing: If needed, the prints can also be dyed, painted, and other surface treatments to further enhance their appearance and texture.

[0038] In general, the carbon fiber printing method is an advanced manufacturing technology that combines the carbon fiber reinforcement effect and the advantages of FDM technology. Through reasonable material selection, printing parameter settings and post-processing processes, carbon fiber parts with high strength, high stiffness and good surface quality can be manufactured.

[0039] The present invention and its implementation methods are described above, and such description is not restrictive, and the actual structure is not limited thereto. In short, if ordinary technicians in the field are inspired by it, without departing from the purpose of the invention, they can design structures and embodiments similar to the technical solution without creativity, which should all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A carbon fiber printing method, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Printing equipment preparation: 3D printer: a 3D printer that supports FDM technology, with a heating nozzle and a building platform; Extruder: responsible for feeding the composite filament material into the heated nozzle and controlling the extrusion speed and amount of the material; S2: Model design: Use computer-aided CAD design software to create or obtain the required three-dimensional data model; S3: Data conversion: convert the CAD model into an STL format file that can be recognized by the 3D printer; S4: Slicing: Use slicing software to slice the 3D model in STL format into a series of two-dimensional slices; S5: Printing material preparation: Load the composite filament material containing short carbon fibers into the material tray of the 3D printer and ensure smooth material feeding; S6: Setting printing parameters: adjusting and optimizing according to specific materials and models, setting the heating nozzle temperature, forming chamber temperature, and printing speed; S7: Layer-by-layer deposition: The printer heats the nozzle to a suitable temperature, melts the composite filament material and extrude it onto the building platform layer by layer. Each layer of material is rapidly cooled and solidified after deposition, forming a thin layer with a contour shape and bonded to the previous layer. As printing progresses, the building platform will gradually reduce the thickness of a thin layer to start printing the next layer; S8: Setting support structure: adding support structure to support the suspended part as needed during the printing process to ensure stability and accuracy during the printing process; S9: Printing: After printing a certain number of layers, the 3D printer is paused, the extruder stops feeding the composite filament material into the heating nozzle, and the heating nozzle stops ejecting the composite material; S10: Post-printing processing: After printing is completed, the support structure is removed, the printed part is sanded and polished, and the printed part is dyed and painted as needed.

2. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, the 3D printer is equipped with a heating nozzle and a building platform to ensure the melting and deposition of the material.

3. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The three-dimensional data model in step S2 includes the geometric shape, size and structure information of the object to be printed.

4. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The STL format file in step S3 contains the surface information of the model, which is used for subsequent slicing processing.

5. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S4, the slicing software automatically calculates the cross-sectional information of the model, and the thickness of each layer is usually between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm.

6. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the short carbon fibers are uniformly dispersed in the matrix material to form a composite filament material, the length of the short carbon fibers is less than 1 mm, and the matrix material is ABS or PLA thermoplastic.

7. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S10, the support structure needs to be removed after printing is completed, and care needs to be taken not to damage the model.

8. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grinding and polishing of the printed part in step S10 is used to eliminate the roughness and layer lines on the surface and improve the accuracy and aesthetics of the model.

9. The carbon fiber printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dyeing and painting surface treatment of the printed part in step S10 is used to further improve its appearance and texture.