journal article·2023-05-09Open access

Recycling Glass and Carbon Fibers for Reusable Components in the Automotive Sector through Additive Manufacturing

Alessia Romani, Stefan Caba, Raffaella Suriano, Marinella Levi

Applied Sciences· Volume 13· Issue 10

Abstract

This work explores the use of additive manufacturing (AM) to reprocess recycled glass and carbon fibers in the automotive sector. It aims to foster exploitation of recycled Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (rGFRPs) and recycled Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (rCFRPs) through two manufacturing workflows: indirect Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and UV-assisted Direct Ink Writing (UV-DIW). An industrial case study on vehicle components has been considered by prototyping one real component. After the tensile tests, some molds were fabricated with a FFF 3D printer for the indirect 3D printing process to cast an epoxy-based thermosetting resin with rGFs and rCFs. The second technology consisted in fabricating the parts by hardening in-situ a photo- and thermal-curable thermosetting acrylic liquid resin with rGFs. These results validate the use of AM and recycled composites for applications in the automotive sector. These approaches may be implemented for customizable components for batches below 100 vehicles as the first step for their exploitation.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies · Manufacturing Process and Optimization · Photopolymerization techniques and applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy

Design Department, Politecnico di Milano, Via Durando, 20158 Milan, Italy

EDAG Engineering GmbH, 36039 Fulda, Germany

Funding

European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program

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