An introduction to continuous fiber UV-cured thermoset composites by in-situ impregnation

Abstract In-situ impregnation of continuous fiber using UV-curable thermosets is a promising emerging technology for additive manufacturing of high-performance composites. The combination of continuous fiber and thermoset photopolymer is an attempt to equal or exceed the mechanical performance of existing lower cost composite manufacturing technologies, such as out-of-autoclave (OoA) vacuum bag only (VBO) consolidation, without many of the geometric restrictions faced by automated fiber placement (AFP). This paper introduces in-situ impregnation of fiber-reinforced UV-cured thermosets by focusing on UV curable resins, light sources, and curing challenges for both glass and carbon fiber composites. Mechanical performance comparisons with traditional autoclave processed composites are used to define continuous fiber UV-cured thermoset shortcomings.