Using raw materials (thermoplastic pellets and rolls of fiber tows), this invention will continuously impregnate fiber tows with molten thermoplastic resin for fabrication of custom composite shapes, unlike current methods, which do not use raw materials and are extremely expensive processes. The ‘In Situ’ process can be used to either directly “print” composite parts in an additive manufacturing approach or to manufacture pre-impregnated (prepreg) composite material for use in other manufacturing technologies. This new process produces avoids flaws such as being limited to short fiber reinforcement or by having continuous reinforcement structure that is only in flat, parallel planes or layers using extremely expensive materials and uses bulk raw material for enhanced performance.

Submission Date
Reference Number
R18-034
Contact
Natasha Sanford