California-based Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has just announced that its researchers are the first to 3D print high-performance, aerospace-grade carbon fiber composites, which is a big foot in the door to optimization and greater control of the strong but lightweight material. LLNL's study was funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, and was recently published online in Nature Science Reports. The research team explained that their work epitomizes a major advance in developing 3D printing micro-extrusion techniques for carbon fiber, which is actually stronger than steel. The stiff but light material has a high resistance to temperature, which makes it a popular choice in the automotive, aerospace, and defense industries, as well as motorcycle racing and surfing. Read more at 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/166472/llnl-3d-pr...-carbon-fiber/