Chapter 4: Three-dimensional printing of continuous plant fiber composites

Abstract

With increasing global ecological and environmental pollution problems, synthetic fiber reinforcements cannot meet recent environmental goals and sustainable development requirements. Under these circumstances, the manufacturing of continuous natural fiber reinforcements filled with biodegradable and recyclable polymer composites began to receive more attention. As one of the fastest-growing processes in the last decade, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) shows great potential in printing continuous natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CNFRCs). However, several challenges, such as low mechanical properties and difficulty in printing, need to be overcome. This chapter attempts to analyze the current research status of using CNFRCs as a feeder for 3D-printing and provides a research outlook on the existing technology landscape, influencing material and printing parameters as well as reinforcement geometry and stacking orientation.