Mitsui Chemicals Europe is excited to announce the first appearance of TAFNEX™ at Formnext 2026, presenting its expanding portfolio of carbon fiber reinforced polypropylene materials for additive manufacturing. Formnext brings together the international additive manufacturing community and provides an ideal platform to explore new materials, manufacturing technologies and applications. For TAFNEX™, the event marks an important opportunity to showcase how its established thermoplastic composite technology is expanding into the world of 3D printing.

Event details:

  • Name: Formnext 2026
  • Location: Messe Frankfurt, Germany
  • Date: Nov 17 – 20, 2026
  • Booth: Hall 12.1, Booth G99

TAFNEX™ enters the world of additive manufacturing

At Formnext 2026, Mitsui Chemicals Europe will showcase the expansion of the TAFNEX™ product family into additive manufacturing. The portfolio includes TAFNEX™ PP-CF Filament for Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and TAFNEX™ PP-CF Pellets for Fused Granulate Fabrication (FGF), building on Mitsui Chemicals’ experience in thermoplastic carbon fiber reinforced polypropylene composites.

Visitors can discover how these materials broaden the possibilities for lightweight, carbon fiber reinforced components produced by additive manufacturing, from desktop FFF to large-format applications.

Explore TAFNEX™ across five dedicated zones

At our booth, visitors will be able to explore the versatility of TAFNEX™ through five dedicated zones, covering materials, manufacturing technologies and applications:

  • Materials
  • Large-Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM)
  • UAV applications
  • Mobility applications
  • Industrial & other applications

Together, the five zones take visitors from material and manufacturing process to final application, providing a comprehensive view of how TAFNEX™ can contribute to the next generation of lightweight additive manufacturing.

Combining additive manufacturing and continuous fiber reinforcement

Beyond FFF and FGF, the wider TAFNEX™ portfolio also opens up opportunities to combine additive manufacturing with continuous-fiber reinforced TAFNEX™ semi-finished products. Such hybrid manufacturing concepts combine the design freedom of 3D printing with the performance potential of continuous-fiber composites. Hybrid manufacturing opportunities include:

  • UD tape reinforcement of printed structures to significantly improve through-thickness (z-direction) performance, addressing a common limitation of FGF and FFF printed parts
  • Direct printing onto TAFNEX™ semi-finished products, such as sheets and tubes, to create functionalized, high-performance components while reducing tooling requirements and development time

The combination of different material formats and processing technologies illustrates the broader idea behind TAFNEX™: providing a versatile thermoplastic composite platform that can be adapted to different manufacturing processes and application requirements.

Meet the TAFNEX™ team at Formnext 2026

We look forward to welcoming visitors, partners and the additive manufacturing community to our booth (12.1 G99) and discussing how TAFNEX™ can support new lightweight applications. Discover our materials. Explore our applications. And experience the possibilities of TAFNEX™ in additive manufacturing.

For more information about TAFNEX™ or to schedule a meeting at Formnext, please contact us via email.