Reinforce the satellite structure with Reinforce3D CFIP technology

How the combination of 3D printing and continuous filament reduces weight and cost in aerospace

Additive manufacturing is playing an increasingly important role in the aerospace industry, where low weight, high strength and manufacturing efficiency are key parameters. Reinforce3D 's CFIP (Continuous Fibre Injection Process) technology provides an innovative way to add additional reinforcement to 3D printed parts with continuous carbon fibre, allowing for significant improvements in the mechanical properties of structures while reducing weight and manufacturing costs.

Challenge: Minimising the weight of satellite structures

In the space industry, weight is one of the most important factors. Each kilogram of payload can mean approximately US$10,000 in costs to bring into orbit, so manufacturers are looking for new design and manufacturing approaches that allow maximum lightweighting while maintaining structural integrity.

At the same time, components must meet stringent requirements for stiffness, strength and vibration resistance during launch and operation in space. This is where additive manufacturing and composite technologies are proving to be key tools for modern development.

Solution: CFIP - additional reinforcement of 3D printed parts

CFIP technology allows the application of continuous carbon fibre with resin into the internal cavities of an already manufactured part. This approach is fundamentally different from conventional composite methods where the reinforcement is integrated during the actual printing process.

CFIP allows components made with different technologies and materials - from polymers to metals to ceramics - to be reinforced. The filaments can be oriented in optimal load directions, including complex trajectories across the print layers, resulting in significantly increased mechanical resistance and more efficient material utilization.

The technology also enables integral bonding of multiple parts using continuous filaments, which helps to optimize design, reduce weight and manufacturing costs.

Hybrid construction: combination of polymer, metal and composite

In this study, the satellite antenna structure was designed as a hybrid assembly of two additively manufactured components - a polymer component made of PA12 fabricated by HP Multi Jet Fusion and a metallic part made of aluminium alloy fabricated by Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The two parts were then reinforced with continuous carbon fibre using CFIP and structurally bonded into a single unit.

Optimization of the structure was carried out using topological optimization and numerical simulations (FEM) to verify the strength, stiffness, vibration frequencies and stability of the structure. Laboratory tests confirmed the agreement of the simulations with the real mechanical properties.

Results.

The deployment of CFIP technology has resulted in significant design and economic benefits:

• weight reduction of 48% compared to a topologically optimized metal additively manufactured structure,
• up to 70% weight reduction compared to the original conventionally manufactured structure,
• resulting structure weight of approximately 484 g,
• estimated 59% reduction in manufacturing costs due to smaller metal parts and more efficient production.

These results confirm the potential of hybrid additive manufacturing with composite reinforcement for critical aerospace applications.

By combining additive manufacturing with design optimization and Continuous Fiber Injection Process (CFIP) technology, the weight of the antenna mount was reduced from the original 1.6 kg to 484 g, while reducing manufacturing costs by 59%. In the aerospace industry, where each kilogram carried into orbit represents a cost in the thousands of dollars, this level of design efficiency has a direct economic impact. It is not just about optimising one part, but improving the overall economics and efficiency of space systems.

Marc Crescenti, CTO & Co-Founder

Contributing to the future of aerospace manufacturing

CFIP technology opens up new possibilities for structural optimization and hybrid manufacturing of lightweight structures. The ability to reinforce already manufactured parts with continuous fibers allows combining different materials and manufacturing processes according to mechanical, economic and production requirements.

For the aerospace sector, this means not only a reduction in the weight of satellite components, but also a potential reduction in space mission costs and an increase in manufacturing efficiency. The combination of additive manufacturing and composite reinforcement thus represents a promising route to lighter, stronger and more cost-effective structures of the future.