Authors:
Samanwitha Kolli (KU Leuven, Belgium),
Margherita Beretta (KU Leuven, Belgium),
Peter Sergeant (Ghent University, Belgium),
Marleen Rombouts (Flemish Institute for Technological Research – VITO, Belgium),
Jozef Vleugels (KU Leuven, Belgium)
Abstract:
Additive Manufacturing (AM) of pure copper for high-performance heat exchangers and electrical systems is gaining rapid momentum owing to the exceptional combination of material properties and geometrical freedom which is limited in conventional production methods. Of the various viable technologies, 3D micro-extrusion is an indirect AM technology that enables processing a broad variety of materials, including Cu, delivering high-quality parts with desired density and properties. This study reports the shaping of parts by extrusion of a highly powder-loaded paste at room temperature followed by debinding and pressureless sintering. A complete processing route for 3D micro-extrusion of dense and highly conductive Cu components was developed from the selection of powders, feedstock paste formulation and preparation, printing parameters optimisation and post-processing strategy. The fabricated parts exhibited functional and mechanical properties competitive to the most adopted laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) technique.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59499/WP225370836