System and method for cutting material in continuous fiber reinforced additive manufacturing

A system of cutting fiber reinforced feedstock comprising:

• a source of a feedstock;
• an extruder configured to extrude the feedstock from one or more openings through a feedstock pass through zone, wherein the extruder includes one or more openings;
• a controller;
• and
• a cutting device including a cutting mechanism coupled to the controller, wherein a portion of the cutting mechanism defines at least a partial perimeter of the feedstock pass through zone, wherein the cutting mechanism comprises a disk including a plurality of blade structures along the entire perimeter of the disk, wherein each of the plurality of blade structures is shaped such that a partially enclosed cavity is defined by a curvature of each blade structure ending in a point, each partially enclosed cavity along the perimeter of the disk configured to line up with at least a partial perimeter of the feedstock pass through zone,
• wherein the controller is configured to rotate the disk and then stop after rotating a predetermined distance to cut the feedstock, the predetermined distance being the distance between two consecutive partially enclosed cavities,
• wherein at least one of the partially enclosed cavities comprises at least one fully enclosed perforation within a blade structure, the at least one fully enclosed perforation including a cutting edge.

A method for cutting feedstock comprising:

• passing a feedstock through a feedstock pass through zone of a fiber reinforced cutting device, the cutting device comprising:
• the feedstock pass through zone:
• a controller:
• and
• a cutting mechanism coupled to the controller, wherein a portion of the cutting mechanism defines at least a partial perimeter of the feedstock pass through zone, wherein the cutting mechanism comprises a disk including a plurality of blade structures positioned continuously along the entire perimeter of the disk, wherein each of the plurality of blade structures is shaped such that a partially enclosed cavity is defined by a curvature of each blade structure ending in a point, each partially enclosed cavity along the perimeter of the disk configured to line up with at least a partial perimeter of the feedstock pass through zone,
• wherein the controller is configured to rotate the disk and then stop after rotating a predetermined distance to cut the feedstock, the predetermined distance being the distance between two consecutive partially enclosed cavities,
• wherein at least one of the partially enclosed cavities comprises at least one fully enclosed perforation within a blade structure, the at least one fully enclosed perforation including a cutting edge;
• and
• cutting the feedstock with either one of the partially enclosed cavities or one of the fully enclosed perforations of the cutting mechanism.