Carbon Fiber 3D printer The MarkForged 3d printer prints Carbon Fiber. initially desgined to build F1 body parts. I am no way affiliated with Mark. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302667#msg-302667 Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:33:20 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,561447#msg-561447 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,561447#msg-561447
Next time you see them tell them:


We need to see Stiffness test data on printed v layup peices, the mechanical process is fairly easy but getting reasonable adhesion of base polymer to the cf is very difficult in small printer heads. The residence time required to wet the cf strands is crucial and a way of seperating them as they move through the extruder necessary to efficiently coat them. In large production machines this is done by side feeding the cf into the melt flow through a series of 90 degree bends see us patent 4439387. I have built a head which dose this but its so large it will not fit on a home printer i was getting 50-60% stiffnes v layed up parts, only way i see to increase this would be to increase melt flow and pressure which will increase the size and weight even more, i need to build a printer powerfull enough to carry the print head first.]]> rm2014 General Tue, 22 Sep 2015 05:44:22 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,561321#msg-561321 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,561321#msg-561321
The slicer software that comes with the printer will lay each per layer(or not). I was also told the support of either material is configurable so you can setup different ratios of material to fibre in different patterns/fills.

CF can be cut with a knife/shear its just rough on the blade. the setup to cut it doesn't need to be fancy, and in this case it's small enough to fit on the gantry... exacto blade on a pivot? dunno... took a peek... didn't take it apart. :)]]> Epop General Mon, 21 Sep 2015 22:18:03 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,558043#msg-558043 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,558043#msg-558043 arnab05 General Mon, 14 Sep 2015 05:01:48 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,557945#msg-557945 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,557945#msg-557945
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arnab05
even i am curious about the mechanism he uses to cut a yarn at the end of a layer.

Me too. Depending on the technique, this approach for strengthening prints might be applicable beyond CF reinforcement of nylon.

If it can scale up, it might be a useful way of increasing the strength of printed concrete walls. Possibility even using renewable materials like hemp rope. Vertical rebar could still be inserted to increase the shear strength.]]> JonS General Mon, 14 Sep 2015 00:08:58 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,557479#msg-557479 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,557479#msg-557479
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rm2014
I am wondering if there is a cutter of some sort built in to cut the CF and allow transition to the nylon extruder head.

even i am curious about the mechanism he uses to cut a yarn at the end of a layer.]]> arnab05 General Sat, 12 Sep 2015 20:09:11 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,471561#msg-471561 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,471561#msg-471561 dickobrazz General Mon, 16 Feb 2015 15:51:22 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,403921#msg-403921 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,403921#msg-403921
Their problem is not with the printer development, its with the materials, in order to get maximum stiffness out of the CF you have to make sure each strand of the CF is coated properly with the base polymer in this case nylon-its called wetting in the industry. If you don't do this then the CF strands will not stick together when they are printed, in fact the picture shows they are not wetted at all, basically you have a load of loose string inside a nylon case, which is next to useless. Obviously the hype generated by this idea is just that- hype, the technical issues to make a printer actually do what they say would take a huge amount of money and R&D to solve the wetting problem, way beyond kickstarter funding.]]> rm2014 General Sat, 06 Sep 2014 03:00:05 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,398691#msg-398691 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,398691#msg-398691
I would wait until people get this printer and open it up to see how it exactly works ;)]]> Ohmarinus General Sun, 24 Aug 2014 19:50:35 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,398517#msg-398517 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,398517#msg-398517 AJAY KUMAR General Sun, 24 Aug 2014 10:26:51 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303127#msg-303127 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303127#msg-303127 rm2014 General Wed, 29 Jan 2014 20:15:07 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303122#msg-303122 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303122#msg-303122
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Buback
it will be stronger than typical pla or abs or whatever, but it's still got the same issues with inter-layer strength, i assume.

Introducing fibres into materials make them stiffer not stronger, any extra strength comes from the fibre itself not the base polymer, for them to be successful you have to "wet" the material, which is quite difficult to do in thermoplastics ABS or PLA because of their viscosity, but easier to do with thermosets, the key to solving interlayer adhesion could be to print cross layers as they do with aircraft wings etc, this is nothing new and I can see 3d printers could be adapted to do it small scale easily. You can buy both CF and GF in various sizes it looks like shiny string. I am wondering if its possible to just feed it through an enlarged nozzle and let it be drawn through with the melt flow, or would it need to be coated in the thermoplastic first, like electrical wire, where the copper is the CF/GF with a Nylon, or ABS sheath.

Regarding patents, i don't think MarkForged will get a patent granted, its all been done before, certainly I will be objecting to it, see Ron Hawley's US Patent number: 4439387 explains it well, and you can clearly see the similarity to a 3D printer head.

See Neil Cogswell of ICI and Ron Hawley of Polymer Composites Inc who developed long-fibre reinforced nylon and PP in thermoplastics.

See The Drostholm continuous pipe process developed in the 50's if you study this patent it will show you filament winding where a continuous fibre, coated with synthetic thermoset resin, is laid down onto a mandrel.]]> rm2014 General Wed, 29 Jan 2014 20:06:01 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303118#msg-303118 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303118#msg-303118


It looks to me like the printer put down a continuous yarn/string winding of CF and sandwiched it between a printed nylon core and printed nylon outer skin, and the spot that I'm seeing is the point where the yarn ended in the winding process. Perhaps the simplicity of the process is why there are no details on the web site?????
]]> vreihen General Wed, 29 Jan 2014 19:33:33 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303003#msg-303003 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,303003#msg-303003
I feel like this is similar to mixing powdered steel into abs, and then saying you can print steel.

Who will be the first to mix soot into filament and sell it as nanotube filament?]]> Buback General Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:56:56 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302861#msg-302861 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302861#msg-302861
The web site states that it's a Patented Continuous Filament Fabrication.
I didn't find a patent, maybe they have a licence.

I did find a reference to MIT on the aeromotions web site, and
Gregory Mark is a graduate of MIT, and MIT is big on patenting 3d printing.

It looks like a braid, maybe it's a tape, or is it printing a core, then wrapping the carbon fiber around it?

I don't see a reference to epoxy, so it's possible they are using some thing like a modified/filled cyanoacrylate.

Prepreg's are very expensive, need to be refrigerated, and have a limited shelf life.

The title says it's printing the support for a wing, not the wing.]]> A2 General Wed, 29 Jan 2014 09:33:33 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302847#msg-302847 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302847#msg-302847
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vreihen
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gmh39
That's awesome! I would totally buy that. I wonder how he prints the CF, since typically it needs to be soaked with some kind of epoxy then vacuum sealed.

In mass production settings, carbon fiber comes in "prepreg" weave, where the manufacturer soaks the material in a special epoxy formulation that doesn't harden until heated in an autoclave (under vacuum) per a specified ramp temperature time/curve chart. Many need to be kept in a refrigerator for long-term storage. The benefit is that you can get the best carbon-to-resin ratio this way, and it is easy to lay out in molds.

From the cutaway picture, this printer appears to be laying down a continuous carbon fiber yarn/filament, like a filament winder for making CF tubes. With some sort of continuous prepreg CF yarn/filament being heat-triggered by the extrusion nozzle, it doesn't seem implausible to lay a *continuous* bead of CF yarn/filament down with a little tweaking to a 3D printer.....

That makes much more sense. Im just used to using carbon tow that needs an epoxy resin for things like bamboo bikes.]]> gmh39 General Wed, 29 Jan 2014 08:38:18 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302783#msg-302783 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302783#msg-302783
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gmh39
That's awesome! I would totally buy that. I wonder how he prints the CF, since typically it needs to be soaked with some kind of epoxy then vacuum sealed.

In mass production settings, carbon fiber comes in "prepreg" weave, where the manufacturer soaks the material in a special epoxy formulation that doesn't harden until heated in an autoclave (under vacuum) per a specified ramp temperature time/curve chart. Many need to be kept in a refrigerator for long-term storage. The benefit is that you can get the best carbon-to-resin ratio this way, and it is easy to lay out in molds.

From the cutaway picture, this printer appears to be laying down a continuous carbon fiber yarn/filament, like a filament winder for making CF tubes. With some sort of continuous prepreg CF yarn/filament being heat-triggered by the extrusion nozzle, it doesn't seem implausible to lay a *continuous* bead of CF yarn/filament down with a little tweaking to a 3D printer.....]]> vreihen General Wed, 29 Jan 2014 06:16:42 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302676#msg-302676 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302676#msg-302676 Anonymous User General Tue, 28 Jan 2014 20:59:33 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302674#msg-302674 Re: Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302674#msg-302674 gmh39 General Tue, 28 Jan 2014 20:49:09 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302667#msg-302667 Carbon Fiber 3D printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,302667,302667#msg-302667 MarkForged 3d printer prints Carbon Fiber. initially desgined to build F1 body parts. I am no way affiliated with Mark.]]> SheldonE General Tue, 28 Jan 2014 20:33:15 -0500