The research team from the Center for Space Application Engineering and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences used the INTAMSYS high-performance material 3D printer FUNMAT HT to systematically study the 3D printing process of the independently developed carbon fiber PEEK composite materials, and made important scientific progress. The related results were titled "Flexural Properties and Fracture Behavior of CF / PEEK in Orthogonal Building Orientation by FDM: Microstructure and Mechanism" and published in the internationally renowned journal "Polymers". PhD student Li Qiushi is the first author and Zhao Wei is an assistant researcher Researcher Wang Gong is the corresponding author of this research paper.
Polyetheretherketone, or PEEK for short, is a thermoplastic polymer with high strength, high temperature resistance, and chemical resistance. It has a significant impact on the 3D printing industry. At present, polyetheretherketone has been used in the manufacture of 3D printed satellites, 3D printed automotive parts, and human implants. It may also enter other fields in the future. In PEEK 3D printing technology, similar to most non-metallic materials, the Z-layer interlayer bonding force of FDM process prints is much lower than the X and Y directions, which is considered to be one of the important factors limiting its application.
Zhao Wei, Li Qiushi and other scholars studied the effect of vertical printing direction on the flexural properties of carbon fiber polyetheretherketone 3D prints by doping carbon fibers in the wire material and using the intelligent FUNMAT HT machine. The strip has excellent mechanical properties, with a bending strength of 146 MPa. Importantly, it also has a nearly consistent bending strength with traditional injection-molded parts. Figure 1. Carbon fiber PEEK 3D printing material. Preparation and printing process
The authors found that the introduction of carbon fiber not only improves the rigidity and strength of the print, but also has more uniform crystallinity. At the same time, the analysis of the carbon fiber introduction and print direction on the microstructure composition of the print and the stress fracture mode of the print are beneficial to large parts. Manufacturing. At the same time, it can be observed that by using the INTAMSYS 3D printer, by changing the printing direction and printing parameters, in addition to the excellent mechanical properties of the print, it also has a relatively smooth surface.