Composites are extremely beneficial when making lightweight yet strong

parts. The fibers add strength to a part without adding weight. As

mentioned, there are two types of reinforcements, short
fiber or continuous fiber. In the first case, chopped fibers, which consist
of segments less than a millimeter in length, are mixed into traditional
thermoplastics to increase the stiffness and to a lesser extent the strength
of components. Chopped fibers can be mixed with thermoplastics such as
nylon, ABS or PLA. Every manufacturer will add and blend a different
amount of short fibers to its plastic polymer, resulting in filament spools of
different strengths. You should also be aware that print quality will be
impacted by the quantity of chopped fibers. Above a certain threshold, the
3D printed part will lose in surface finish.