The development status and technical bottlenecks of 3D printed continuous fiber-reinforced thermosetting composites were reviewed in this paper. Based on the preliminary experimental research

a two-step 3D printing solution was proposed

including fiber impregnation and printing

and post-curing. The continuous carbon fiber (CCF) reinforced thermosetting epoxy (EP) samples were prepared by 3D printing. The mechanical test results show that the tensile strength and modulus of 3D printed CCF/EP samples were (1257±71) MPa and (96±11) GPa

respectively; the flexural strength and modulus were (965±80) MPa and (75±7) GPa

respectively; the interlaminar shear strength was (92±3) MPa. The microscopic fiber-resin bonding

distribution

and internal void defects were also discussed. Furthermore

complex structures reinforced by different fibers were fabricated to demonstrate the feasibility and generality of the proposed technique. Finally

the application prospect of 3D printed CCF/EP mesh in the field of self-heating and deicing was explored. These results pave the way for the digital manufacturing of high-performance thermosetting composites through 3D printing and demonstrate their great potential in advanced industrial applications.