A critical review on 3D printed continuous fiber-reinforced composites: History, mechanism, materials and properties

Three-dimensional printing (3DP), interchangeably termed as additive manufacturing, is an emerging technology for creating myriad objects with numerous design flexibilities by sequential layering. The research revolving 3DP to develop different high-performance materials is in its young stage and burgeoning exponentially throughout the globe. The widest applications of 3DP technology are found in automobile, aerospace, building, metal and alloy, electronic and biomedical fields. Recently, the opportunity to use fiber as reinforcement in the plastic resin of 3D printed model has contributed significantly to the improvement of mechanical performances of 3D printed composites. In the present review, along with introducing brief history of 3DP, mechanism of embedding different continuous fibers into different plastics and their microstructural and mechanical properties including predicting models have been critically reviewed. Additionally, based on the limitations of current technology future research directions have been defined.