Using Carbon Fiber Reinforcement
How to use the Carbon Fiber Reinforcement feature effectively.
Last updated
How to use the Carbon Fiber Reinforcement feature effectively.
Last updated
Printing with carbon fiber can add marked strength to your print. The carbon fiber filament itself is quite expensive so it is important to use it in the most efficient way possible to avoid additional cost. The most optimal choice will be generally based on what type of loading you anticipate your part to experience. This guide will outline different types of loadings and the most effective method of reinforcement.
This guide will offer a CliffNotes version however Eiger has there own forum on this which is available here: https://markforged.com/resources/blog/reinforcing-3d-printed-parts-part-1
Throughout this guide, different axes will be referred to and thus must be defined for understanding. The Z axis will rise up and away from the print bed towards the ceiling. The X axis will run laterally across the print bed's horizontal length assuming you are looking down at the printer. The Y axis will run up the print bed away from you, again assuming you are looking down at the print bed.
The Fiber Fill Type determines how the printer will lay carbon fiber filament in your part to strengthen it. There are two main types that function very differently. It is worth noting that, depending on the need for reinforcement, the type of reinforcement can be specified for each layer individually. The initial setting in Eiger will apply default settings that may or may not best suit your needs. The global setting for your part can be found under the reinforcement tab once you have selected the carbon fiber option for your reinforcement material.
This fill type uses the least amount of filament but is also simple. This fill type will "ring" your part with interior lines of filament, around its horizontal profile. The default global option will offer a ring on all walls of your print and two rings of support.
This option is most useful when you want to create a sandwich of reinforcement. It will create cross hatches of reinforcement covering in addition to the standard concentric rings to create several entire layers of your print.
A part that will experience load in only one axis can present options that allow us to decrease the amount of carbon fiber needed and thus the cost.
If you are printing a part that will experience all or the majority of it's load in the Z axis, it is likely the most effective way to reinforce your part would be to create a sandwich layer of support on the top and bottom of the part using isometric fill.
In the event your part will experience its loading across the X or Y axis, in other words across the face of the print bed the isometric fiber option is not necessarily the best. Here you can use concentric fiber and built a sandwich of reinforcement along the walls of your print. Due to the default concentric option having a set number of layers you may want to increase this number for additional strength. It is worth noting that also using isometric fiber here would add additional strength but perhaps not an amount proportional to the additional cost of fiber material.
When how stress will be applied to a part is unknown but it must be quite strong, or if it will experience load from many angles it is generally best to apply the shell method. This will create a cocoon of fiber that runs underneath the outer surface of the part in order to strengthen it from all sides. This is done by selecting the isometric as your global option and creating your upper and lower sandwich reinforcement. In addition to this, enter the layer view and choose the concentric option for all the layers in between the layers that have isometric fiber.
Another option is to choose isometric for all layers of your part. This can be just as, if not more, effective than the method above, but is generally far less cost efficient. It should be reserved for when the goal is absolute strength. If that is the goal with no consideration for weight, then an additional option to consider would be a solid infill of standard material.
