BigRep adds continuous carbon fiber to IPSO 105, promises 20x stronger parts
Continuous carbon fiber has reached BigRep’s IPSO 105, with the companies claiming parts up to 20 times stronger than unreinforced thermoplastics.
What does “20x stronger” mean when the part is a meter-scale print, not a lab coupon? In BigRep’s latest move, it means continuous carbon fiber is now part of the IPSO 105 workflow, turning a large-format thermoplastic platform into a reinforced composite system aimed at real tooling and functional parts.
BigRep and Endless Industries announced their long-term global technology partnership on April 30, 2026, after two years of joint development. The integrated setup brings Endless Industries’ continuous fiber system into the BigRep IPSO 105, with the companies saying the combination can deliver parts with up to 20 times the strength of unreinforced thermoplastics while staying below the cost of traditional automated fiber placement systems.
That cost argument matters because the IPSO 105 was already built for demanding industrial work. BigRep launched the machine on May 28, 2024, as a 105-liter system with a 400 x 600 x 440 mm build volume, a chamber that reaches 100°C, a print bed that reaches 180°C and DSX extruders that can process high-performance materials up to 450°C. BigRep has positioned it for tooling and industrial functional parts, and that makes it a natural base for a reinforced-composite workflow rather than a general-purpose desktop machine.
The clearest proof point is already on BigRep’s product page: a custom leg prosthesis made with continuous carbon fiber on an IPSO 105 modified by Endless Industries. BigRep says the setup supports patient-specific digital production and cuts purchased parts and manual work, which is exactly the sort of shift that matters when the question is not only strength, but how many steps stand between a prototype and something that can be put to work.
Endless Industries describes itself as a builder of automated carbon fiber manufacturing systems for high-performance composite parts, and says its technology can cut development cycles from years to weeks. The company also showed its Endless ONE medium-scale continuous fiber printer at Formnext 2024, with a 600 x 400 x 440 mm build volume, underscoring how aggressively it is pushing continuous-fiber production closer to mainstream additive workflows.
For large-format printing, the significance is straightforward: once reinforcement is integrated into the machine instead of treated as a separate process, bigger parts do not have to trade away usable strength so quickly. BigRep is not just making larger prints here. It is trying to make large prints strong enough to leave the prototype lane and compete with conventional composite manufacturing on cost, repeatability and real-world use.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
