Chunze Yan is currently a full professor at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) and director of the State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology. He was selected as a special Professor of The Yangtze River Scholars of the Ministry of Education. His research works have engaged in raw material preparation, process development, equipment development and application promotion of additive manufacturing technology for non-metallic materials, including continuous carbon fiber reinforced composites (CCFRC), SiC ceramic and its composites, polymer materials and composite materials, etc. He is currently the associate Editor of Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Smart Manufacturing, Journal of Micromechanics and Molecular Physics and Advanced Manufacturing, And the editorial Board Member of Materials Science in Additive Manufacturing and Materials. He has won the Second Prize of National Technology Invention (ranking 2), the Second Prize of National Science and Technology Progress (ranking 3), and China's Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progress (core members).

Topic title: Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for non-metallic composites

Abstract:

Complex non-metallic composite components have significant strategic importance for national security and cutting-edge technology development. Ultra-high thermal stability makes silicon carbide the preferred material for space mirrors, and high-strength and low-density continuous carbon fiber reinforced composites are excellent lightweight materials for structural structures in the aviation field. However, the overall formation of complex SiC and continuous carbon fiber reinforced components has become a global "stuck neck" issue.

To address this challenge, our group pioneered additive manufacturing technologies for non-metallic composites. The integrated process of additive manufacturing and reactive infiltration is proposed to prepare SiC complex components and a robot-assisted laser additive manufacturing (RLAM) technique is proposed for CCF-reinforced composites, which involves utilizing a laser beam to heat the filament to a semi-molten state, followed by compacting it with a roller and bonding it layer by layer to create densely structured components. Related research results have formed a set of full theories and technologies of material-software-equipment-process for integrated AM of non-metallic composite components, and has been used to fabricate a variety of typical complex components, including SiC square mirrors for integrated circuit lithography machines, SiC reflector mirrors for space remote sensing satellites, and lightweight CCF-reinforced composite housing for air vehicles. The research ideas and progress of this cutting-edge technology will be introduced in detail in this report.