US Patent 9833949 Apparatus for fabricating three-dimensional printed composites

A 3D object according to the invention comprises substrate layers infiltrated by a hardened material. The 3D object is fabricated by a method comprising the following steps: Position powder on all or part of a substrate layer. Repeat this step for the remaining substrate layers. Stack the substrate layers. Transform the powder into a substance that flows and subsequently hardens into the hardened material. The hardened material solidifies in a spatial pattern that infiltrates positive regions in the substrate layers and does not infiltrate negative regions in the substrate layers. In a preferred embodiment, the substrate is carbon fiber and excess substrate is removed by abrasion.