PCCF (Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polycarbonate) for FDM

Material Profile: PCCF (Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polycarbonate) for FDM

FDM Engineering Material Technical Report Series

Compiled from manufacturer technical datasheets and peer-reviewed literature

Abstract—PCCF combines polycarbonate (a tough, transparent amorphous engineering thermoplastic) with chopped carbon fiber to produce one of the highest stiffness FDM materials short of high-performance polymers. With Tg ≈ 145 °C and high inherent strength, PC's bisphenol-A backbone gives PCCF excellent thermal performance, while CF reinforcement delivers exceptional dimensional stability at lower cost than CF-nylon grades.

Index Terms—additive manufacturing, FDM, polycarbonate, carbon fiber, high stiffness.

I.  MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION

This section establishes the canonical names and commercial designations under which the material is supplied.

A.  Designation

Trade name: PC-CF (generic). Examples: 3DGence PC-CF, 3DXTech CarbonX™ PC+CF, Polymaker PolyMax™ PC-FR.

B.  Full Chemical Name

Polycarbonate (poly[bisphenol-A carbonate], CAS 25037-45-0) reinforced with chopped carbon fiber.

C.  Aliases and Alternative Designations

II.  COMPOSITION AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE

A.  Empirical Chemical Formula

Polycarbonate repeating unit: [-O-C₆H₄-C(CH₃)₂-C₆H₄-O-CO-]ₙ; formula (C₁₆H₁₄O₃)ₙ.

Fig. 1.  Repeating unit / structural schematic of the polymer matrix.

Fig. 2.  Schematic of dispersed reinforcement / filler in the polymer matrix (not to scale).

B.  Composition Breakdown

TABLE I
 COMPOSITIONAL BREAKDOWN OF PCCF (TYPICAL / PER SUPPLIER DATASHEET)

III.  MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — XZ PRINT DIRECTION

In the XZ orientation the tensile load is applied parallel to the deposited rasters; for fiber-reinforced grades this is the strongest orientation because the fibers align preferentially along the extrusion direction.

TABLE II
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — XZ ORIENTATION (PCCF)

IV.  MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — ZX PRINT DIRECTION

In the ZX orientation the tensile load is applied perpendicular to the print layers, so failure occurs through inter-layer (Z) bonds. Properties are markedly lower than in XZ — this anisotropy is intrinsic to FDM.

TABLE III
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — ZX ORIENTATION (PCCF)

Estimated XZ:ZX UTS ratio ≈ 2.5:1, modulus ratio ≈ 2.4:1. PC's amorphous nature gives strong inherent inter-layer bonding, partially offsetting CF fiber disruption at layer interfaces.

V.  RECOMMENDED PRINT PARAMETERS

Values summarised below give consensus operating windows from public datasheets. Specific suppliers may differ within ±10 °C; the supplier datasheet always supersedes this table.

TABLE IV
 RECOMMENDED PRINT TEMPERATURE RANGES FOR PCCF

VI.  GLASS TRANSITION TEMPERATURE (TG)

Reported / typical Tg: ≈ 143 – 150 °C (3DGence PC-CF reports Tg ≈ 143 °C).

PC is one of the highest Tg amorphous engineering thermoplastics. Service temperature is generally limited to ~110–120 °C. Annealing is rarely required for amorphous PC; instead, parts may be stress-relieved at 110–120 °C × 4–6 h.

VII.  HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE (HDT)

Heat deflection temperature is the temperature at which a standard bar deflects 0.25 mm under a specified flexural load (ASTM D648 / ISO 75).

TABLE V
 HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE OF PCCF UNDER STANDARD TEST LOADS

VIII.  DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS AND STANDARDS

A.  Highest Tg of common amorphous engineering plastics

PC's bisphenol-A backbone gives Tg ≈ 145 °C — one of the highest of any unfilled amorphous engineering thermoplastic. Combined with CF reinforcement, PCCF maintains stiffness at temperatures where ABS-CF would be deflecting.

B.  Excellent dimensional stability

PC's amorphous nature eliminates crystallinity-driven shrinkage; combined with CF's CTE-reducing effect, PCCF delivers some of the most dimensionally stable FDM parts available. Suitable for precision fixtures and metrology jigs.

C.  Limited UV resistance

Polycarbonate degrades under UV exposure (yellowing, embrittlement). PCCF is therefore unsuitable for outdoor applications without UV-stabilised co-extrusion or topcoats.

D.  Chemical resistance

PC is attacked by alkalis, ammonia, ketones, and chlorinated solvents. Resistant to most acids, oils, alcohols, and aliphatic hydrocarbons.

IX.  REPRESENTATIVE APPLICATIONS

PCCF is typically deployed in the following applications:

1)  Automotive industrial / under-hood tooling: Components requiring 100–130 °C service with high stiffness.

(Source : 3dxtech)

2)  Manufacturing fixtures and jigs: High-precision workholding where dimensional stability is critical.

3)  Aerospace tubing and mounts: Non-flame-critical structural mounts.

4)  Drone airframes (high-performance): Where PA-CF stiffness with higher Tg is needed.

(Source : Stratasys)

5)  Precision instrument housings: Optical or electronic instrument enclosures requiring tight tolerances.

Photographs of representative parts in these applications are not reproduced here for copyright reasons; the table below provides direct manufacturer / case-study URLs where original imagery and project descriptions can be viewed.

TABLE VI
 SUGGESTED IMAGE / CASE-STUDY SOURCES

X.  REFERENCES

[1]  3DGence, “PC-CF Engineering Filament Datasheet,” 2024. Available: https://3dgence.com/america/filaments/pc-cf-filament/

[2]  3DXTech, “CarbonX™ PC+CF Datasheet,” 2024.

[3]  Polymaker, “PolyMax™ PC-FR Datasheet,” 2024.

[4]  B. Brenken et al., “Reinforcement of material extrusion 3D printed polycarbonate using continuous carbon fiber,” Addit. Manuf., 2019.

[5]  ASTM D638-14; ASTM D256-10; ASTM D648-18.