Authors:
Atul Anand (Technische Universität Wien, Austria)
Christian Gierl-Mayer (Technische Universität Wien, Austria)
Paul Peritsch (Incus GmbH, Austria)
Santiago Cano Cano (Incus GmbH, Austria)
Alexander Holzer (Technische Universität Wien, Austria)
György Harakály (Incus GmbH, Austria)
Abstract:
Recently, Lithography-Based Metal Manufacturing (LMM) has emerged as a highly effective method for 3D-printing small, intricate copper components, such as microfluidic heat exchangers and electronic transmission devices. LMM printed parts need to be debinded and sintered to get fully dense copper parts. Even small amounts of carbon can negatively impact the sintering process, densification, and the thermal and electrical conductivity of copper parts. Therefore, a well-designed strategy must be implemented during both the debinding and sintering stages to achieve copper parts with optimal properties. This study investigates debinding and sintering strategies for LMM-printed copper components. In addition to the conventional debinding and sintering atmospheres, which are Air and Hydrogen, respectively, the use of humidified gas environments has been explored. Most of the carbon content coming from the binders is removed during debinding under air, while the added moisture in the reducing gas atmospheres promotes further decarburization at higher sintering temperatures.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59499/EP256778885
