01    Strongest composite parts

 

— 02   Widest range of materials

 

03   Accessible to all engineers

Benefits

Fiber™ offers users exceptional part quality and a wide range of engineering-grade materials—all on a user-friendly, desktop printer.

Continuous fiber reinforcement

Continuous fiber tape is applied along critical load paths in a process called Micro Automated Fiber Placement (µAFP). Layers of highly loaded continuous fiber tape are laminated to build fully-dense, reinforced sections two times stronger than steel at <1/5 the weight (up to 2,500 MPa tensile strength and <1.5 g/cc).

Low porosity

Utilizing tapes made with 12k continuous fiber tows, up to 60% fiber volume fraction, and exceptional resin impregnation, Fiber™ is able to achieve continuous fiber reinforcement with less than 1% porosity.

Multi-directional reinforcement

Layers of continuous fiber are deposited via µAFP. Users can automatically optimize fiber orientation for maximum coverage, or enable Expert Mode to tailor orientation for specific loading conditions.

PEKK + Continuous Carbon Fiber

PEKK is characterized by its high tensile and compression strength, resistance to chemical abrasion, and ability to withstand high temperatures (above 250­­ °C). When reinforced with carbon fiber, resulting parts are exceptionally durable and well-suited for extreme environments.

PEEK + Continuous Carbon Fiber

PEEK is characterized by exceptional mechanical properties, high resistance to surface abrasion, and is inherently flame retardant. When combined with continuous carbon fiber, the resulting composite is strong, stiff, and boasts a high fatigue level—making it great for high-wear manufacturing jigs and fixtures.

Nylon (PA6) + Continuous Carbon Fiber

Our PA6 nylon with carbon fiber reinforcement is safe for operations where ESD compliance is required. With a tensile strength 30x stronger than ABS, PA6 + CF is an excellent material for end-of-arm tooling, including those used in electronics manufacturing.

Nylon (PA6) + Continuous Fiberglass

Fiberglass-reinforced nylon is a low-cost material which renders lightweight, high-strength and corrosion-resistant parts—making it a great match for sporting goods applications where parts are exposed to the elements and have a low target cost per part.

Easy to use

In a matter of minutes, users can begin printing industrial-grade composites from the comfort of their desktop. Entry-level settings and opt-in advanced controls allow every engineer to produce high-quality composite parts at the press of a button.

Affordable

Starting at just ¼ the cost of other industrial continuous fiber composite printers***—and boasting superior materials and a large build envelope, Fiber™ offers unrivaled utility at just a fraction of the cost. With Fiber™, engineers no longer have to trade between high quality, speed, and affordability.

Material performance

Chopped Fiber

Most thermoplastic printers fall within a narrow range:

  • — <8 GPa tensile modulus
  • — <100 MPa strength

Minor enhancements within this range are achieved via modifications to polymers or with the addition of fiber fillers.

 

Continuous fiber

Existing 3D-printed polymer and composite materials only account for a small fraction of engineering needs.

Continuous fiber printing expands this landscape to enable stronger, lighter-weight components.

  • — Over 75x stiffer than ABS
  • — Over 60x stronger than ABS

 

How it works

_Technology introduction

Fiber™ features two printheads—one dedicated to deposition of continuous fiber prepreg tape (μAFP), one dedicated to extrusion of a chopped fiber filament.

Prep 

Generate geometry, review loading conditions, and identify areas for reinforcement.

Reinforce

Selectively reinforce with continuous fiber μAFP tape along critical load paths.

Print

The Fiber™ printer utilizes a dual-deposition print method to build parts layer-by-layer in both chopped fiber filament and continuous fiber µAFP tape.

Part Anatomy 

Parts printed on Fiber™ feature a chopped fiber shell and solid continuous fiber reinforcements.

Solution overview

– 01

– 02

Printer
 

Fiber™ is the only composite 3D printer to use Micro Automated Fiber Placement (μAFP)—unlocking exceptional part strength for a desktop printer. Featuring closed-loop heat control, the µAFP head constructs a high-density, continuous fiber reinforcement while the FFF printhead enables a high-resolution exterior shell.

Materials

 

The Fiber™ materials library is categorized by family—or thermoplastic material. Our current library features three material families: Nylon (PA6), PEEK, and PEKK. Within each family are a breadth of fiber-reinforced filaments and μAFP tapes.

Part Gallery

_Fiber™ applications

Fiber™ applications span a variety of industries including manufacturing, tooling, automotive, consumer, electronics, and marine.

CNC fixture A                 PEEK + CF

 

    High temp gear               PEEK + CF                 

                 Camera mount A                   PA6 + CF  

                              Mirror mount                      PA6 + FG

                      Bike pedal crank                         PA6 + FG

                       Inspection plate            PA6 + CF

                            CNC fixture B                       PEEK + CF

                                 Camera mount B              PA6 + CF

                                 High temp nozzle             PEKK + CF