Enabling electrical functionality of carbon fibre composites via tow steering during additive manufacturing

Michael Flanagan, Noel Harrison, Maeve Duffy, Jamie Goggins, Pouyan Ghabezi, William Finnegan, School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Galway, MaREI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, Construct Innovate, University of Galway, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing

Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials

Published online on October 25, 2025

Abstract

Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials, Volume 39, Issue 5, Page 2438-2460, May 2026.
Additive manufacturing of carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites enables the steering of individual fibre tows. This design flexibility has been successfully used to optimise carbon fibre composites for mechanical loading, but limited work has been ...