Composites in Context to Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

The very first application in the Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the development of prototypes, that too by using plastic in fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing processes, Stereolithography, SLS and others. Apart from printing ordinary shaped objects, Additive Manufacturing is also able to produce composites by using different materials on a single production platform. Continuous research and development has improved Additive manufacturing capability to develop various composite materials including fiber-reinforced composite, Biocomposite, Nanocomposites, Polymer matrix composites and Polymers. The primary purpose of this work is the literature-based study on FDM printed composite materials. For this purpose, the keyword “FDM Composites” is used in SCOPUS search and research papers from reputed publishers and Journals were identified and studied. Further, discussed the methods for the development of composite using FDM, and different composite materials with their types which can be printed by using FDM are discussed in a tabular form. It is learned that FDM provides an extraordinary chance to develop typical AM parts with the use of composite materials. Exploration, expansion and commercialization of AM materials are a significant extent of the study in the field of a composite at present.