Desktop Metal Fiber
Industrial-grade composites, featuring continuous fiber tapes for unrivaled part strength.
Introducing Desktop Metal Fiber.
Fiber™ is the only composite 3D printer to use Micro Automated Fiber Placement (μAFP) which allows for easy-to-use high-quality composite printing at a price point every engineer and designer can access. The Fiber HT offers desktop printing of industrial-grade, chemical-resistant, flame-retardant and ESD-safe parts with PEEK-, PEKK- and nylon-based continuous fiber materials.
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Desktop Metal Fiber
Fiber – Overview & Benefits
Strong Parts
Fiber™ offers users exceptional part quality and a wide range of engineering-grade materials—all on a user-friendly, desktop printer.
Fiber™ combines the exceptional performance of continuous fiber with the ease of FFF printing to produce high-performance parts that are stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and can operate continuously in the toughest environments up to 250 ºC.
Continuous fiber reinforcement.
Continuous fiber tape is applied along critical load paths in a process called Micro Automated Fiber Placement (µAFP). Layers of highly loaded continuous fiber tape are laminated to build fully-dense, reinforced sections two times stronger than steel at <1/5 the weight (up to 2,500 MPa tensile strength and <1.5 g/cc).
Low porosity.
Utilizing tapes made with 12k continuous fiber tows, up to 60% fiber volume fraction, and exceptional resin impregnation, Fiber™ is able to achieve continuous fiber reinforcement with less than 1% porosity.
Multi-directional reinforcement.
Layers of continuous fiber are deposited via µAFP. Users can automatically optimize fiber orientation for maximum coverage, or enable Expert Mode to tailor orientation for specific loading conditions.
Widest Range of Materials
Fiber™ prints with two printheads—one dedicated to continuous fiber tape; one dedicated to chopped fiber-reinforced filament. Designed for versatility, the printer supports a wide range of fiber-reinforced composites to enable a broad set of applications from consumer electronics to automotive.
PEKK + Continuous Carbon Fiber.
PEKK is characterized by its high tensile and compression strength, resistance to chemical abrasion, and ability to withstand high temperatures (above 250 °C). When reinforced with carbon fiber, resulting parts are exceptionally durable and well-suited for extreme environments.
PEEK + Continuous Carbon Fiber.
PEEK is characterized by exceptional mechanical properties, high resistance to surface abrasion, and is inherently flame retardant. When combined with continuous carbon fiber, the resulting composite is strong, stiff, and boasts a high fatigue level—making it great for high-wear manufacturing jigs and fixtures.
Nylon (PA6) + Continuous Carbon Fiber.
Our PA6 nylon with carbon fiber reinforcement is safe for operations where ESD compliance is required. With a tensile strength 30x stronger than ABS, PA6 + CF is an excellent material for end-of-arm tooling, including those used in electronics manufacturing.
Nylon (PA6) + Continuous Fiberglass.
Fiberglass-reinforced nylon is a low-cost material which renders lightweight, high-strength and corrosion-resistant parts—making it a great match for sporting goods applications where parts are exposed to the elements and have a low target cost per part.
Accessible to All
With a wide range of materials, easy-to-use platform, and affordable subscription tiers, Fiber™ offers high-quality composite printing at a price point every engineer and designer can access.
Easy to use.
In a matter of minutes, users can begin printing industrial-grade composites from the comfort of their desktop. Entry-level settings and opt-in advanced controls allow every engineer to produce high-quality composite parts at the press of a button.
Affordable.
The cost of other industrial continuous fiber composite printers***—and boasting superior materials and a large build envelope, Fiber™ offers unrivaled utility at just a fraction of the cost. With Fiber™, engineers no longer have to trade between high quality, speed, and affordability.
Fiber – Material Performance
Continuous fiber composites exponentially expand the material performance landscape by a factor of over 60x.
Chopped Fiber
Most thermoplastic printers fall within a narrow range:
— <8 GPa tensile modulus
— <100 MPa strength
Minor enhancements within this range are achieved via modifications to polymers or with the addition of fiber fillers.
Continuous Fiber
Existing 3D-printed polymer and composite materials only account for a small fraction of engineering needs.
Continuous fiber printing expands this landscape to enable stronger, lighter-weight components.
— Over 75x stiffer than ABS
— Over 60x stronger than ABS
Fiber – How it Works
Fiber™ features two printheads—one dedicated to deposition of continuous fiber prepreg tape (μAFP), one dedicated to extrusion of a chopped fiber filament.
1. Prep
Generate geometry, review loading conditions, and identify areas for reinforcement.
2. Reinforce
Selectively reinforce with continuous fiber μAFP tape along critical load paths.
3. Print
The Fiber™ printer utilizes a dual-deposition print method to build parts layer-by-layer in both chopped fiber filament and continuous fiber µAFP tape.
4. Part Anatomy
Parts printed on Fiber™ feature a chopped fiber shell and solid continuous fiber reinforcements.
Fiber – Part Gallery
Fiber™ applications span a variety of industries including manufacturing, tooling, automotive, consumer, electronics, and marine.
CNC fixture A
High temp gear
Camera mount A
Mirror mount
Bike pedal crank
Inspection plate
CNC fixture B
Camera mount B
