Continuous Composites
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho firm founded 2012 that builds CF3D robotic cells printing continuous-fiber composite parts; closed a $17M Series A in 2021.
Continuous Composites is an American additive manufacturing company in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, that develops and sells CF3D, a robotic process for printing continuous-fiber composite structures. The company was founded in 2012 and is based at 3875 N Schreiber Way, a facility it moved into in April 2026 to support production-relevant CF3D systems. Steve Starner is chief executive.
CF3D impregnates dry continuous fiber with a fast-curing thermoset resin inside a proprietary print head and cures it in place with ultraviolet light as the head moves, so parts can be built without molds, autoclaves or layup tooling. Because fiber is steered along load paths rather than laid in flat plies, the company states that fiber-steered designs can reach up to twice the strength and stiffness of quasi-isotropic layups.
The production system is CF3D Enterprise, an integrated cell built around a six-axis Comau industrial robot, a Siemens CNC controller and a seventh-axis rotator with a stated precision of 0.250 mm for full-surface deposition. It is programmed with CF3D Studio, the company's toolpath software, which generates fiber-steered deposition paths from part designs; finite element analysis on actual fiber toolpaths and topology optimization for anisotropic materials are listed as planned additions. Material systems include PolyMat High Tg, a polymer matrix composite, and CERAMAT, a ceramic matrix composite intended for thermal protection, both using photocurable resins co-engineered with Arkema's Sartomer business. Customers can buy a cell or order printed parts.
Target markets are aerospace and defense: UAV wings and spars, hypersonic thermal protection and aerodynamic surfaces, satellite components and other high-temperature structures. Much of this work is under US government contract. Awards include a 1.9 million US dollar Air Force TACFI contract for FEA simulation of anisotropic structures, 1.25 million dollars from the AFWERX Manufacturing Challenge for joining methods (January 2026), a multi-year Army ManTech effort on next-generation missile components (June 2026), an Army SBIR for launched-effect structures (2025) and a Navy Phase II SBIR to embed electrical systems in UAV structures (August 2026). Earlier it completed a two-year AFRL program with Lockheed Martin and a NASA SBIR (2022).
CF3D Enterprise cells have been installed at Auburn University's Applied Research Institute (purchased December 2025), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the UW Advanced Composites Center. Strategic partners Arkema and Saint-Gobain led early financing rounds, and in July 2021 the company closed a 17 million US dollar Series A led by B. Riley Venture Capital. It has also worked with Spatial Corp. on composite printing software and is a member of America Makes.
The company actively enforces its patent portfolio: in litigation with Markforged the USPTO denied six of seven IPR petitions Markforged filed, and in August 2026 it sued Fibre Seek for infringement after licensing talks failed. It received JEC World Innovation Awards in 2019 and 2023 and won the Sikorsky Innovations Entrepreneurial Challenge.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
CF3D Enterprise
Robotic cell that prints continuous-fiber composite parts with in-situ UV curing, no molds or autoclave.
CF3D Studio
Toolpath software that converts composite part designs into fiber-steered deposition paths for CF3D.
PolyMat High Tg
High glass-transition polymer matrix composite material system for CF3D printing.
CERAMAT
Ceramic matrix composite material system for printed thermal protection and high-temperature parts.
- Arkema / Sartomer (photocurable resins)
- Saint-Gobain (joint development agreement)
- Spatial Corp. (composite printing software)
- America Makes (member)
- AFRL and Lockheed Martin (WiSDM program)
- Auburn University Applied Research Institute
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- UW Advanced Composites Center
- U.S. Air Force
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Navy
- NASA (SBIR)
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Contact Continuous Composites
WEBSITE
https://continuouscomposites.com/PHONE
+1 888-508-1085HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2012
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
employees 10-50
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
Keywords
- Continuous Composites
- CCI
- CF3D
- continuous fiber 3d printing
- uv-cured thermoset
- fiber steering
- composite structures
- hypersonics
- ceramic matrix composites
- toolpath software
- uav airframes
- Manufacturer
- Software/Algorithm
- Additive/3D Printing
- Control & Software
- Aerospace & Space
- Defense & Security
- Manufacturing
