Continuous Composites Awarded $1.25 Million to Advance Joining Methods with CF3D
•February 18, 2026
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Why It Matters
The funding fast‑tracks a digital fiber‑manufacturing platform that could deliver lighter, stronger airframes for defense, cutting development cycles and lifecycle costs.
Key Takeaways
- •$1.25M AFWERX award targets CF3D joining methods
- •CF3D combines fiber steering, UV curing, computational design
- •Project aims to surpass conventional composite strength‑to‑weight
- •15‑month effort will shape defense airframe manufacturing
- •Success could broaden CF3D hardware, software, material adoption
Pulse Analysis
The aerospace sector is increasingly turning to digitally orchestrated manufacturing to overcome the weight penalties of traditional composites. CF3D, a UV‑cured continuous‑fiber 3‑D printing technology, enables engineers to steer fibers with sub‑millimeter accuracy while simultaneously curing layers, creating complex geometries that were previously impractical. This level of design freedom aligns with the industry’s push for performance‑driven structures, where every gram saved translates to fuel efficiency and payload gains.
AFWERX’s $1.25 million award positions Continuous Composites at the forefront of this shift, specifically targeting the integration of load‑bearing stiffeners into airframe panels. By evaluating both bonded and in‑situ stiffener configurations, the program seeks to demonstrate measurable improvements in stiffness and strength without compromising weight. The defense community, which demands rapid fielding of mission‑critical platforms, stands to benefit from a manufacturing pipeline that reduces part count, shortens lead times, and offers repeatable, high‑performance outcomes.
Beyond the immediate project, the initiative could catalyze broader adoption of the CF3D ecosystem, encompassing the Enterprise hardware, Studio design software, and emerging PolyMat and CeraMat material families. As the technology proves its merit in high‑stress aerospace applications, commercial sectors such as automotive and renewable energy may follow, driving a new wave of lightweight, structurally optimized products. Continuous Composites’ success would therefore not only reinforce the U.S. defense industrial base but also set a benchmark for next‑generation composite manufacturing worldwide.
Continuous Composites awarded $1.25 million to advance joining methods with CF3D
Source | Continuous Composites
Continuous Composites (Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, U.S.) was awarded a $1.25 million contract through the AFWERX Manufacturing Challenge in January 2026 to advance next-gen joining and stiffening approaches for aerospace structures.
CF3D is a digitally driven manufacturing process enabling the automated and highly scalable production of continuous fiber composites with precise steering, rapid UV curing and optimized designs. This project applies those capabilities to a persistent challenge in lightweight airframe design: increasing structural strength and stability while minimizing weight. The effort evaluates how CF3D can form load-bearing stiffeners bonded onto composite panels or integrated during panel fabrication.
“This award reflects the growing recognition of CF3D as a foundational capability for future aerospace structures,” says Steve Starner, CEO of Continuous Composites. “When fiber steering, rapid curing and computational design operate as a single system, we gain the ability to tailor structural behavior with precision. That level of control is essential for meeting the aggressive performance and weight demands shaping modern airframe development.”
Auburn University grows composites research, programs and capabilities via CF3D Enterprise cell
The contract builds on earlier evaluations where CF3D was investigated for stability challenges in unmanned aerial systems. By integrating stiffeners optimized for optimal strength-to-weight ratios, surpassing the performance of conventional composite approaches, the effort advances structural capabilities for defense and aerospace platforms.
AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force, established the Manufacturing Challenge to accelerate the transition of emerging manufacturing methods into operational use. The selection of Continuous Composites reflects increasing defense interest in CF3D as an enabler of lighter, mission-scale structures that meet the air worthiness constraints of DOD programs.
This 15-month effort will inform joining strategies and broader applications across the CF3D ecosystem, including CF3D Enterprise hardware, CF3D Studio software, as well as PolyMat and CeraMat material families.
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