Introduction of carbon fiber filament

3D Printing Carbon Fiber Filaments are commonly classified as PLA, ABS, PETG, Nylon based, etc. This filament cannot be 100% carbon, it needs to be mixed with a polymer base to make it more flexible, similar to metal-infused filaments it is one kind of composite material made by infusing fragments.

The fiber strands inside the carbon fiber filaments are divided into long and short. Except for a few professionals who use continuous carbon fiber filaments for printing, most people choose carbon fiber composite filaments to print objects. The diameter of the chopped carbon fiber particle polymer is about 0.01 mm, which is more suitable for the printing process.

How does this carbon fiber filament increase the strength and rigidity of the printed object? This is because after the printer heats the carbon fiber filament, the carbon fiber particles will align along the direction of the printer during the printing process. The carbon fiber particles will be evenly distributed in the printed object.

Geeetech 3D Carbon fiber PLA filament

Geeetech has launched Carbon Fiber PLA Filament which can be widely used for functional parts or industrial-grade accessories. It can apply to most extrusion-based FDM 3D printers.

We have classic black carbon fiber PLA filament available and we are going to release more colors. 13.99 USD/1KG, it is one kind of mixture material of carbon fiber and PLA. If you want to print hard and flexible print, Geeetech carbon fiber filament would be a good choice.

Specifications are as follows:

Diameter: 1.75mm Diameter, dimensional accuracy + / – 0.03 mm

Temp of Print bed: 40℃-60℃

Temp of Hotend: 190℃ -215℃

Suggestion:  Use a 0.6 mm stainless steel nozzle, and clean the 3D printer nozzle as soon as possible each time you print a model

Is carbon fiber stronger than ABS filament?

Carbon materials perform superbly in long-term durability, flame retardance, and chemically resistant properties. It meets the requirements of the outdoor environments and especially it’s lighter than other materials thus it is widely used for auto manufacturation and space devices.

Carbon material: 5407 MPa (elongation at break of around 350%)

ABS (elongation at break of 10-50%)

ABS– Strength at Break (Tensile): 29.8 – 43 MPa

–Strength at Yield (Tensile): 29.6 – 48 MPa

The toughness of carbon fiber filaments is based on the percentage of carbon fibers’ filling. We made a test between Geeetech Carbon Fiber PLA filament and ABS filament below.

Applications of carbon fiber filament in 3D printing

For 3D makers who love tougher materials, carbon fiber filament is a great alternative to expensive polycarbonate (PC) or PEEK. However, we kindly ask you to choose a 0.6 mm diameter stainless steel nozzle to avoid 3D printer clogging issues. This is a good solution for wood series filament printing.

Carbon fiber filaments have been extensively applied to various fields. It contributes a lot to five industries aerospace, automotive, sport, 3D printing, and medical treatment. In aerospace, carbon fiber filaments are used to produce drones, satellite accessories, and lightweight parts. In the automotive industry, it will be used to produce durable, lightweight parts to enhance fuel efficiency and performance. As for the sports industry, it’s a frequently used material for outdoor sports tools or equipment, such as bikes and protective parts. In the 3D printing industry, we rarely use full pure carbon fiber filaments, we use composite carbon fiber filaments. We can utilize it to print mechanical parts, household tools, etc.

In the medical treatment industry, reinforced PEEK filament from Evonik brings more possibilities to hospital devices. It can be used in 3D-printed medical implants. Their filaments have advantages in the ability to define the alignment of the carbon fibers during the 3D printing process, high bio-compatibility for metal allergy patients, and no x-ray artifacts.

What improvements have we made to the new bunch of Geeetech carbon fiber filament?

We will show you the test results between the first bunch of Geeetech carbon fiber filament and the new bunch of Geeetech PLA-C (new bunch) carbon fiber filament in 4 aspects:

• Is it easy to get printer nozzles clogged?
• Is the stringing heavy?
• Comparison of brittleness
• 3D print test by Mizar 3D printer

1. Is it easy to get clogged?

Geeetech Carbon Fiber PLA filaments show good stability during printing, and material blocking is rare. Geeetech PLA-C (new bunch) PLA material has been improved, the blocking phenomenon is significantly reduced, suitable for various printing tasks.

2. Is the stringing heavy?

Geeetech Carbon Fiber PLA has light stringing and a smooth surface after printing. Geeetech PLA-C (new bunch) has moderate wiredrawing, which can be reduced by optimizing the printing temperature and speed

3. Comparison of brittleness

Geeetech Carbon Fiber PLA has good toughness and is suitable for printing mechanical parts. Geeetech PLA-C has the best flexibility and is not easy to break.

4. 3D print test by Mizar 3D printer