An apparatus for roll forming thermoplastic composites comprises a plurality of thermoplastic composite material spools, a plurality of thermoplastic composite material rollers, a plurality of sheet metal spools, a plurality of welding rollers, an oven, a forming roller, a pair of pinch rollers. The thermoplastic composite material spools retain plies of thermoplastic composite material. The plies flow through the thermoplastic composite material rollers to form a layup. The sheet metal spools retain metal sheets. The metal sheets and the layup flow through the welding rollers to form a metal composite material laminate. The oven heats the metal composite material laminate. The forming roller imparts a curvature to the metal composite material laminate. The pinch rollers receive the metal composite material laminate from the forming roller, pull the metal composite material laminate, and output the metal composite material laminate in a heated and compressed state.

Methods and apparatus for embedding metallic wires within polymer structures through co-extrusion printing in large-format polymer additive manufacturing (LFPAM). The method includes receiving user input for object and wire regions, performing Boolean operations on the meshes, generating printing paths, and determining an optimized order for printing. The LFPAM tool, configured with a data processing apparatus, prints the object with embedded wire and anchors supporting the wire ends. The system may include the use of a cutting tool to separate the anchors from the printed object. This disclosure improves wire alignment, support, and printing performance, enhancing the properties of wire-embedded printed structures.