Video: 3D Printing with Carbon Fiber

To my knowledge, it’s not possible to print metal parts on a desktop machine. But MarkForged says it will soon be possible to print parts as strong as metal on a desktop machine. The company will soon begin shipping its new “Mark One” desktop machine, which 3D prints with carbon fiber.

“Carbon fiber composite materials weigh significantly less than steel while offering comparable strength and performance. But recovering and recycling continuous fiber for additive manufacturing applications — without any effect on the mechanical properties — has proven extremely difficult,” says Brent Donaldson, Senior Editor for Additive Manufacturing Media.

This promotional video produced by MarkForged gives a sense of how its machine applies strands of carbon to build rigid 3D forms.

“Given large-scale additive manufacturing (AM) using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer continues to gain acceptance, the questions only multiply: Is it possible to mechanically break down carbon-fiber reinforced materials and recycle them for use in other AM applications? Or does the fiber become so degraded through this process that more complex and expensive procedures are needed to recycle it? And if that is the case, what is the value proposition? Is a circular supply chain for recycled carbon-fiber AM materials even possible?” Learn about the challenge of reclaiming carbon fiber for 3D printing.