Continuous Composites Developing FEA Tool for CF3D Printing

The U.S. Air Force awarded Continuous Composites a $1.9 million Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract to develop a groundbreaking Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tool for Continuous Fiber 3D Printing (CF3D).

It is challenging for traditional FEA software to accurately predict material behavior based on fiber orientation. Current FEA solutions are designed for isotropic materials, such as steel, where strength and stress responses are uniform in all directions. CF3D® composites are anisotropic, with primary strength in the direction of the fibers. Continuous Composites’ work will advance the simulation of anisotropic composite materials.

The Continuous Composites FEA tool, developed with industry experts, analyzes CF3D toolpath data and creates mesh models that accurately capture fiber orientation, material properties, and structural behavior, enabling precise predictions of how anisotropic parts will perform under real-world loads.

The new tool will be built into CF3D Studio, allowing engineers to predict material properties and performance before any physical testing. The new capability will significantly shorten development time and improve the reliability of complex composite parts for critical applications.

“We’re solving a major gap in FEA simulation tools,” said Steve Starner, CEO of Continuous Composites. “Existing software only assigns a single directional property to each layer of composite material, but CF3D’s fiber steering requires a more dynamic approach. Our new tool will accurately simulate how our parts will behave under various conditions, which is crucial for industries like aerospace and defense.”

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