Welding 3D Printed Structures for Composite Sacrificial Tooling

3D printed parts offer the ability to generate dimensioned, complex objects with minimal machining touch time and skill, but they are typically very weak and limited in size. Strong and light composite parts require tooling to be created for the fabric to lay on while the resin is curing, but tooling can be quite expensive during the prototyping phase or for low part quantity runs. This study examined the techniques required to weld smaller 3D printed parts together to form large 3D printed tools that could be used as a sacrificial tool for a composite part. In this method, the 3D printed structure would remain inside the part and provide support and dimensional reference during the composite curing process. Friction, hot extrusion, and hot contact welding methods were examined using lap shear joints in both tensile and flexural test methods to determine effective joinery style and overlap lengths to achieve normal 3D printed properties. The results of this study demonstrate how multiple 3D printers could be used to create cost-effective rapid prototyping and low part quantity runs for composite structures by welding smaller 3D printed structures into a larger single 3D printed part