Fundamental Study of Press Molding Method for CFRP Preform Using a 3D Printer

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is a composite material with high specific strength and is applied to transportation and aviation equipment. However, con-ventional processing methods require large-scale pro-duction apparatus or a high level of dexterity that only comes with extensive experience which makes it dif-ficult to achieve high processing efficiency. The ob-jective of this study is to develop a novel method for forming thermos-plastic CFRP (CFRTP) preforms im-plementing a 3D printer for press molding. Applying this method offers the advantage that continuous car -bon fibers can be formed on a free-form surface. It also reduces the manufacturing time and operator skill required. The goal of this research is to establish a method for molding a free-form surface composed of continuous fibers by employing a 3D-printed preform designed to match the unfolded polygonised diagram of the free-form surface. Previous research introduced an unfolding approach for converting a three-dimensional shape to a plane surface based on a computer-aided de-sign and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system, enabling the generation of an unfolding diagram that maintains the continuity of fiber tow. Furthermore, the valid -ity of unfolded diagram was confirmed by reproduc-ing the objective three-dimensional shape from the un-folded diagram using thermos-setting CPRP (CFRTS) tow prepreg. In this study, the viability of the pro-posed molding process using CFRTP preform fabri-cated by a 3D printer was verified and an assessment of the formability of the molded parts was conducted.