Nanotube fiber reinforced composite materials and method of producing fiber reinforced composites

A method of forming a composite material comprising:

• providing a mixture of nanotubes and a matrix material in a fluent state;
• extruding the mixture through an orifice to form a continuous filament;
• segmenting said filament to form filament segments;
• aligning a first plurality of the filament segments in a first direction to form a first preform layer;
• aligning a second plurality of the filament segments in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction to form a second preform layer;
• and
• consolidating the first and second preform layers.

A method for making a continuous fiber-reinforced composite material-based three-dimensional object, comprising:

• combining a reinforcement fiber tow with a solidifying matrix material to form a pre-impregnated tow or towpreg;
• providing a dispensing head capable of dispensing said towpreg onto a surface area of a base member positioned a distance from said dispensing head;
• said dispensing head and said base member being driven by motion means electronically connected to a motion controller regulated by a computer;
• and
• operating and moving said dispensing head relative to said base member to dispense multiple layers of towpreg;
• said steps of operating and moving comprising the following sub-steps:
• creating a geometry file of said object on a computer with said geometry comprising a plurality of layers and each said layer being composed of a plurality of thin segments which can be connected to form exterior and interior contours for delineating respectively the exterior and interior boundaries of a cross-sectional shape of said layer;
• converting said geometry to form deposition paths along which said dispensing head is driven to trace out individual layers by following a selected algorithm so that the number of path interruptions at which said towpreg must be cut off from said dispensing head is minimized;
• converting said deposition paths into programmed signals in a predetermined sequence;
• and
• in response to said programmed signals received from said computer, operating and moving said dispensing head to deposit multiple layers of towpreg, one upon another, in said sequence to form said 3-D object.