Dear Colleagues,

Recently, in the JEC World composite exhibition, we have noticed a growing number of 3D printing machines and technologies being launched on the market to enable new applications of composites, especially those in the industries of aerospace, automotive, etc. As compared with pure resin and short fibre-reinforced composites, continuous fibre-reinforced composites can achieve better mechanical performance, i.e., stiffness- and strength-to-weight ratio, such that 3D printing technology in continuous fibre-reinforced composites has been attracting increasing attention. Currently, there are still limitations that need to be addressed in the printing of continuous fibre-reinforced composites, e.g., poor impregnation, internal porosity defects, size limit, low fibre volume fraction, etc.

To account for these big challenges, this Special Issue is dedicated to the field of novel and engineering solutions in 3D printing of continuous fibre-reinforced composites (based on micromachines). Briefly, this Special Issue particularly focuses on but is not limited to the 3D printing of composites with respect to advances in the design, manufacturing, and characterisation of composite products using 3D printing technology (with micromachines).

Some particular subjects are mentioned here for reference and submission, for example:

• Micromachines in 3D printing of continuous fibre-reinforced composites;
• Three-dimensional printing technology for composites (especially intelligent 3D printing);
• Novel design methods (theoretical, computational, etc.);
• Processing and characterisation of 3D printed continuous fibre-reinforced composites (new experimental methods or results);
• Life-cycle assessment of 3D printed continuous fibre-reinforced composite parts (e.g., fatigue, corrosion resistance and durability analysis);
• Structural health monitoring of 3D printed continuous fibre-reinforced composites (e.g., non-destructive testing, computational prediction, repair);
• Advanced engineering applications (aerospace, automotive, etc.).

In this Special Issue, research-, development-, and application-related submissions sharing promising techniques and strategies on the topic of continuous fibre-reinforced composites and all other related domains are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Yuan Chen
Dr. Heng Cai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• micromachines in 3D printing of continuous fibre-reinforced composites
• three-dimensional printing of continuous fibre-reinforced composites
• lightweight 3D printed composites
• advanced design of 3D printed composites
• numerical simulation of 3D printing process
• polymer composites produced by 3D printing
• processing and characterization of composites using 3D printing technology