Feedrate optimization based on transient thermal modeling for IR-assisted 3D compaction printing of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics on curved surfaces
Published in Composites Part B: Engineering, 2026
Infrared-assisted 3D compaction printing of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics on curved surfaces poses significant challenges for temperature regulation, because the distributed and transient thermal footprint of the infrared heat source interacts strongly with local surface geometry and feedrate. This work achieves consistent temperature control at the contact point through feedrate optimization enabled by a differentiable transient thermal-field modeling framework formulated for curved surfaces. A simulation-driven approach is used to identify path-dependent coefficient functions in the thermal model, and an efficient backtracking algorithm is developed to determine optimized printing feedrates. Together, these contributions enable quality-controlled desktop-scale continuous-carbon-fiber 3D compaction printing using low-power infrared heating. The proposed method is validated through physical experiments on a robotic system equipped with prototype desktop hardware.