Success stories and applications of FRAM

High performance fiber reinforced composites have a range of potential applications in

aerospace, automotive, biomedical and other industries[1]. Divergent 3D introduced one of the
world’s first 3D printed car which was about 90% lighter than the average car and mostly made
with carbon fiber[2]. Then, PSA Group started to work a project with Divergent 3D to build
vehicle structures using carbon fiber materials[3]. In aerospace industry, a number of researches
are performed by NASA [4] for business jets in order to reduce emissions, fuel burn and
turbofan engine weight [5]. The first 3D printed carbon fiber composite based jet engine called
“The Leap Engine” developed by CFM with GE Aviation which the part is lighter yet
stronger[6]. It is known that weight reduction and higher strength is highly important in
aerospace industry [7] and so successful utilization of FRAM in aircraft applications[6] such as
Airbus, Boeing models could be good examples [5].
Lightweight, high strength and individual parts like steering rack extension[8], wheel
suspension, structural bracket and other parts have been applied to Formula SEA and F1
cars[9]. Research shows that carbon fiber reinforced polymers could be used for high
performance lightweight prostheses[10], tissue and scaffold design which have a high potential
in biomedical engineering[11]. This novel method effectively applied to a hollow robotic leg
structure[12] which has a significant weight savings. Other major applications are available
today such as injection molding inserts, CNC shops, welding applications, tooling and
functional prototyping that composite based novel AM methods have high potential to fix the
issues[13].On the other hand, there are currently big area investigations performed by Oak
Ridge National Laboratory such as lightweight power trains [14] and wind turbine blades[15].

[1] A. Manufacturing and F. R. Composites, “Additive Manufacturing for Fiber

Reinforced Composites.” .
[2] “Luxury Car Maker PSA Group Puts 3D Printing to Use for Car Chassis _ 3DPrint.”
2018.
[3] Wohlers, “Wohlers Associates,” Wohlers Associates, Inc. p. 180, 2018.
[4] B. Soediono, “A Fully Non-Metallic Gas Turbine Engine Enabled by Additive
Manufacturing,” Clim. Chang. 2013 - Phys. Sci. Basis, 1989.
[5] T. Hofstätter, D. B. Pedersen, G. Tosello, and H. N. Hansen, “State-of-the-art of fiber-
reinforced polymers in additive manufacturing technologies,” Journal of Reinforced
Plastics and Composites. 2017.
[6] CFM International, “LEAP Engines CFM International Jet Engines CFM
International,” Engines. pp. 1–6, 2018.
[7] F. Ning, W. Cong, J. Qiu, J. Wei, and S. Wang, “Additive manufacturing of carbon
fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites using fused deposition modeling,” Compos.
 Part B Eng., vol. 80, pp. 369–378, 2015.
[8] A. Imeri, N. Russell, J. R. Rust, S. Sahin, I. Fidan, and H. Jack, “3D printing as an
alternative to fabricate the motor sports parts,” 124th ASEE Annu. Conf. Expo., 2017.
[9] T. Hofstätter, D. B. Pedersen, G. Tosello, and H. N. Hansen, “Dimensional Accuracy
and Surface Finish in Additive Manufacturing Challenges and opportunities of fibre-
reinforced polymers in additive manufacturing with focus on industrial applications,”
no. October, pp. 3–6, 2017.
[10] D. A. Türk, H. Einarsson, C. Lecomte, and M. Meboldt, “Design and manufacturing of
high-performance prostheses with additive manufacturing and fiber-reinforced
polymers,” Prod. Eng., vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 203–213, 2018.
[11] S. M Giannitelli, P. Mozetic, M. Trombetta, and A. Rainer, Combined additive
manufacturing approaches in tissue engineering, vol. 24. 2015.
[12] D. A. Türk, L. Triebe, and M. Meboldt, “Combining Additive Manufacturing with
Advanced Composites for Highly Integrated Robotic Structures,” in Procedia CIRP,
2016.
[13] “Markforged_Applications.” 2018.
[14] S. Curran et al., “Big Area Additive Manufacturing and Hardware-in-the-Loop for
Rapid Vehicle Powertrain Prototyping: A Case Study on the Development of a 3-D-
Printed Shelby Cobra,” in SAE Technical Paper, 2016.
[15] C. E. Duty et al., “Structure and mechanical behavior of Big Area Additive
Manufacturing (BAAM) materials,” Rapid Prototyp. J., 2017.