Count me as skeptical. The strength of high-quality carbon fibre comes from having many pieces of fibre woven together over the surface omnidirectionally (Okay, I'm mostly wrong here - see below). This machine seems to simply lay it down in a (more or less) continuous strand, which means that the fibres will be cohesive rather than woven together. You can do this without a special printer - all you need is some carbon fibre/pla filament [1]. My bet would be that polycarbonate 3d printed parts [2] will be stronger that these pseudo carbon-fibre parts in most situations.<p>For a pretty freaking cool view of how high-quality carbon fibre parts are made check out this youtube link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4DLr8qHliI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4DLr8qHliI</a><p>[1]: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1375236253/proto-pasta-gourmet-food-for-your-3d-printer" rel="nofollow">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1375236253/proto-pasta-...</a><p>[2]: <a href="http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/2-2lb-1kg-1-75mm-clear-polycarbonate-filament.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/2-2lb-1kg-1-75mm-clear-po...</a>
The allure of carbon fiber in industry has to do with the properties of the material that can be produced. Home made carbon fiber won't be all that great of a material compared to what people see out in the world (on race cars, planes, etc...). Production lines for producing commercial carbon fiber is super expensive ($100 million+). Zoltek has a basic rundown of the process [0].<p>[0] <a href="http://www.zoltek.com/carbonfiber/how-is-it-made/" rel="nofollow">http://www.zoltek.com/carbonfiber/how-is-it-made/</a>
I was thinking about 3D printed supercars, (or cars for that matter) because why not. I have a friend that works for Buell that informed me the industry has been 3D printing porototypes for a while now. Rapid prototyping has been something driving this field. He sent me this link:<p><a href="https://localmotors.com/press/releases/vehicle-design-innovator-local-motors-signs-crada-with-ornl-to-enable-the-rapid-design-and-manufacturing-of-vehicles-through-direct-digital-manufacturing/?utm_source=Local%20Motors%20Community%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=0f58a4105f-Local_Mototrs_Community_Newsletter%3A%20June%2012&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4c67861f15-0f58a4105f-294349853" rel="nofollow">https://localmotors.com/press/releases/vehicle-design-innova...</a><p>I've also been giving some thought in starting the worlds first 3D printed furniture store.
This is the link you're looking for:<p><a href="http://markforged.com/" rel="nofollow">http://markforged.com/</a><p>Product site, video, tech specs, pre-order, etc.
With all the questions about epoxy content/ratio, I wonder if it might be possible to take a page from the metal clay playbook and use a binder that evaporates as it cures. Or maybe use one that's foam-like or frothy.
Are there health risks associated with extruding carbon fibers? I was under the impression that working with carbon fiber can be potentially harmful to your health.