Continuous Composites (CCI) has been awarded a $1.9 million Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop a groundbreaking Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tool for Continuous Fiber 3D Printing (CF3D). This contract, which started in November 2024, will run through August 2026, and represents a significant advancement in the simulation of anisotropic composite materials, which have unique directional strengths based on fiber orientations.

Currently, commercially available FEA solutions are limited to isotropic materials, such as metals, where strength and stress responses are uniform in all directions. However, CF3D composites are anisotropic, with primary strength in the direction of the fibers. This creates a challenge for traditional FEA software, which cannot accurately predict material behavior based on fiber orientation.

"We're solving a major gap in FEA simulation tools," said Steve Starner, CEO of Continuous Composites. "Existing software only assigns a single directional property to each layer of composite material, but CF3D's fiber steering requires a more dynamic approach. Our new tool will accurately simulate how our parts will behave under various conditions, which is crucial for industries like aerospace and defense."

CCI is partnering with industry experts on the development of this new FEA tool. The tool will ingest CF3D toolpath data to generate mesh representations that more accurately reflect fiber orientation, material behavior, and structural performance of how anisotropic parts will react to real-world loads.

As part of this effort, CCI will integrate the new tool into CF3D Studio, enabling the prediction of material properties and performance before physical testing begins. This capability is expected to dramatically reduce development time and increase reliability in the design of complex composite parts used in mission-critical applications.

This contract is a major milestone for Continuous Composites, advancing CF3D technology from a manufacturing process to a comprehensive design-to-performance solution. The development of this tool represents a significant leap forward in the simulation of high-performance, lightweight composite parts, with potential applications across the aerospace, defense, and UAV industries.