Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Composites, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Composites Manufacturing and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1085

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced composites, e.g., continuous, or discontinuous fibre reinforced composites, nanocomposites, etc., are attracting increasing attention in industrial applications due to excellent performance, i.e., high mechanical properties in terms of stiffness- and strength-to-weight ratios, when compared to their counterparts. As such, the development of advanced composites can fulfil many special but important engineering missions, such as the safety improvement, weight reduction, energy-absorption enhancement, and so forth.

Meanwhile, additive manufacturing or 3D printing has undergone massive development, opening new horizons for manufacturing small-scale and complex composite structural parts that cannot be appropriately made using conventional techniques. In recent years, big advances have been witnessed in additive manufacture of advanced composites with novel design, fabrication, and analysis methods, indicating a huge potential and a promising future for 3D printed advanced composites.

With these significant aims, this Special Issue is dedicated to the field of novel and engineering solutions in additive manufacturing of advanced composite materials and structures. Briefly, the Special Issue has a particular focus on but not limited to 3D printed composites with respect to advanced design, manufacture, characterisation for high-performance composite products by 3D printing.

Some particular subjects are mentioned here for reference and submission, e.g.,

  • The 3D printing technology for composites (especially intelligent additive manufacturing);
  • Novel design methods (theoretical, computational, etc.);
  • Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites by 3D printing (such as reinforcement with continuous or discontinuous carbon fibres, etc.);
  • Processing and characterisation of 3D printed composites (new experimental methods or results);
  • Life-cycle assessment of 3D printed composite parts (e.g., fatigue, corrosion resistance and durability analysis);
  • Structural health monitoring of 3D printed composites (e.g., non-destructive testing, computational prediction, repair);
  • Advanced engineering applications (aerospace, automotive, etc.).

In this Special Issue, research-, development-, and application-related submissions sharing promising techniques and strategies on the topic of advanced design, manufacturing, and analysis of advanced composites by 3D printing, and all other related domains are welcomed.

Dr. Yuan Chen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • additive manufacturing/3D printing
  • fused filament fabrication (FFF)
  • fibre reinforced polymer (FRP)
  • thermoplastic composites
  • advanced manufacturing
  • modelling and design
  • characterization
  • structure-property performance

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5271 KiB  
Article
Advancing High-Performance Composites in Additive Manufacturing (AM) Through Pre-Impregnation and Direct Ink Writing for Scalable 3D Printing
by Yuanrui Wang, Yuchen Ding, Kai Yu and Guoying Dong
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(5), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9050218 - 29 Apr 2025
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to revolutionize the fabrication of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CCFRPCs). Among AM techniques, direct ink writing (DIW) with ultraviolet (UV) curable resin shows promise for creating CCFRPCs with high manufacturing speed, high fiber volume fraction, and [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to revolutionize the fabrication of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CCFRPCs). Among AM techniques, direct ink writing (DIW) with ultraviolet (UV) curable resin shows promise for creating CCFRPCs with high manufacturing speed, high fiber volume fraction, and low energy consumption. However, issues such as incomplete curing and weak interfacial bonding, particularly in dense fiber bundles, limit the mechanical performance. This study addressed these challenges using pre-impregnated systems (PISs), which is a process developed to impregnate dry fiber bundles with partially cured resin before being used for DIW printing, to enhance resin-fiber adhesion and fiber–fiber bonding within fiber bundles. By optimizing resin viscosity and curing conditions in the PIS process, samples treated by PIS achieved improved mechanical properties. Tensile and bending tests revealed significant performance gains over non-PIS treated samples, with tensile stiffness increasing by at least 39% and bending stiffness by 45% in 3K fiber bundles. Tensile samples with thicker fiber bundles (6K and 12K) exhibited similar improvements. On the other hand, while all samples exhibit enhanced mechanical properties under bending deformation, the improvement of flexural stiffness and strength with thicker fiber bundles is shown to be less significant than those with 3K fiber bundles. Overall, composites made with PIS-treated fibers can enhance mechanical performance compared with those made with non-PIS-treated fibers, offering the scaling capability of printing thicker fiber bundles to reduce processing time while maintaining improved properties. It emphasizes the importance of refining the pre-processing strategies of large continuous fiber bundles in the AM process to achieve optimal mechanical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Composites, 2nd Edition)
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18 pages, 13367 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Mechanical Properties of the Additively Manufactured Modified Hybrid Stereolithography (SLA)–Glass Powder
by Benny Susanto, Ardi Jati Nugroho Putro, Muhammad Rafi Ristyawan, Vishnu Vijay Kumar, Ariyana Dwiputra Nugraha, Arif Kusumawanto, Budi Prawara, Endro Junianto, Muhammad Fathul Hikmawan and Muhammad Akhsin Muflikhun
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(5), 205; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9050205 - 24 Apr 2025
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Abstract
This research successfully enhances the mechanical properties of the ready-market resin product additively printed by using stereolithography (SLA) reinforced with glass powder. Using Esun Standard Resin (Shenzhen, China), various proportions of glass powder (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 25%) [...] Read more.
This research successfully enhances the mechanical properties of the ready-market resin product additively printed by using stereolithography (SLA) reinforced with glass powder. Using Esun Standard Resin (Shenzhen, China), various proportions of glass powder (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 25%) were mixed to create test specimens. The results indicated that the incorporation of glass powder markedly enhanced tensile strength and hardness. Specimens containing 25% glass powder exhibited a tensile strength of 37.01 MPa and a hardness of 84.5 HV, in contrast to 24.03 MPa and 73.7 HV for those without glass powder. The density rose with the addition of glass powder, attaining 1.338 g/cm3 at 25% concentration. Nevertheless, heightened brittleness and reduced strain values signified a compromise between strength and ductility. Compression testing revealed increased maximum stress but more brittleness with higher glass powder content, while flexural testing demonstrated diminished flexural strength attributed to inadequate filler adherence and dispersion. This study highlights that the addition of glass powder to SLA resins can improve mechanical strength while reducing flexibility and ductility. Enhancing the concentration and dispersion of glass powder is crucial for attaining a balance in mechanical properties, which enhances SLA 3D printing for dependable, high-performance engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Composites, 2nd Edition)
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Review

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21 pages, 4744 KiB  
Review
Three-Dimensional Printing of Polymer Composites: Manufacturing and Mechanics
by Ryan Bernardy and Yingtao Liu
J. Compos. Sci. 2025, 9(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9010033 - 12 Jan 2025
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Abstract
Polymers have been heavily used in manufacturing for decades, and with their use, improvements in the desired materials via composite materials utilizing a polymer matrix have been commonplace. Naturally, the increase in polymer additive manufacturing has come with an increase in interest in [...] Read more.
Polymers have been heavily used in manufacturing for decades, and with their use, improvements in the desired materials via composite materials utilizing a polymer matrix have been commonplace. Naturally, the increase in polymer additive manufacturing has come with an increase in interest in additively manufacturing polymer composites. This paper primarily covers the fused deposition modeling (FDM) method, ultraviolet (UV)-cured resin methods, multiple resin printing, and embedded sensors associated with additive manufacturing. In particular, the manufacturing and subsequent effect on material properties compared to unreinforced and unmodified 3D-printed polymers, the tradeoffs required in doing so, and the mechanisms behind these effects are discussed. The manufacturing methodology used or developed and the mechanisms behind these selections are discussed along with insights that could be gathered from material property effects seen across different studies. The mechanisms discussed also focus on the mechanisms between the different materials comprising the composite produced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing of Advanced Composites, 2nd Edition)
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