University of Michigan

Sunil Kapila

Kira Barton

Lai Yu Leo Tse

A 3D printing system configured to embed and orient reinforcing fibers in a printable matrix material in at least three directions, wherein at least one of the directions is non-parallel with a plane defined by two other of the directions. The 3D printing system may be configured to deposit a layer of printable non-metallic material along a printing path on a contoured printing surface to form a 3D printed article. The system can carry out a method of 3D printing a fiber-reinforced article that includes the steps of: depositing a plurality of layers of printable matrix material one over another to define a three-dimensional shape of the article; and embedding a reinforcing fiber in the printable matrix material during the step of depositing, with the reinforcing fiber extending into more than one of the plurality of material layers.

Growing community of inventors

Greenbrae, CA, United States of America

Sunil Kapila