Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite (FRPC) parts are mostly made as laminates,
shells, or surfaces wound with 2D fiber patterns even after the emergence of
additive manufacturing. Making FRPC parts with embedded continuous fibers in 3D
is not reported previously even though topology optimization shows that such
designs are optimal. Earlier attempts in 3D fiber reinforcement have
demonstrated additively manufactured parts with channels into which fibers are
inserted. In this paper, we present 3D printing techniques along with a printer
developed for printing parts with continuous fibers that are spatially embedded
inside the matrix using a variant of vat photopolymerization. Multiple
continuous fibers are gradually steered as the part is built layer upon layer
instead of placing them inside channels made in the part. We show examples of
spatial fiber patterns and geometries built using the 3D printing techniques
developed in this work. We also test the parts for strength and illustrate the
importance of spatially embedding fibers in specific patterns.Comment: 9 pages and 8 figure