Study on 3D printing process of continuous carbon fiber reinforced shape memory polymer composites

In this paper, shape memory polymer (SMP) and continuous carbon fibers (CCF) were utilized as raw materials to manufacture composites by means of 3D printing based on FDM. Various process parameters were systematically studied by the orthogonal experiment to find out the optimal process combination where interfaces and mechanical properties of printed composites specimens were treated as research objectives. The influence of each factor on the performance of the specimen was discussed. The results indicated that the mechanical properties were preferable when the printing temperature was 200°C, the printing speed was 4.5mm/s, the scanning pitch was 1.1 mm, and the ply stacking sequence was 0°. Furthermore, the fiber content had little effect on the shape memory performance of the polymer matrix. The rapid manufacture of shape memory carbon fiber composites has potential use in the field of aerospace.