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Research Project on Additive Manufacturing

"Technology and material development for the additive production of complex highly thermally conductive Cu components - CuAdd" 

A joint project of KME Mansfeld GmbH (Hettstedt) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (Halle/Saale)

The market for additively manufactured components is showing steady growth. While sales of 3D printed parts amounted to around USD 7.3 billion in 2007, sales of USD 27.3 billion are already forecast for 2023. Annual growth rates of over 16% are not uncommon in this booming market segment. The market for 3D-printed metal components, especially for copper, currently represents only a niche with a high growth rate.

The research project involves risky technology and materials research for the additive production of complex, highly thermally conductive copper components. The following scientific and technical objectives are being pursued by the project partners:

Scientific objectives:

  • Research into the structure-property relationships between the powder and the custom-made printed component using additive manufacturing,
  • Testing the compatibility of different polymer systems (PLA, PA) with copper systems,
  • Verification of the real behaviour of semi-finished products with heat flow simulation (FEM) on complex internally structured (honeycomb, triangle etc.) geometries.


Technical goals:

  • Powder development and characterisation for highly thermally conductive systems with a copper content of more than 95%,
  • Development of Inline-SLM for one-dimensional material characterization for high throughput screening,
  • Development of a Cu-polymer compound and, derived therefrom, a Cu-polymer filament
  • Testing the printability of the Cu filament using FDM,
  • Construction and testing of a demonstrator with highly complex structure for cooling purposes.

At the end of the project, a complex geometric structure, manufactured in an additive manufacturing process, should be available as an exemplary prototype. With this geometric structure it is possible to evaluate the feasibility of replacing conventional technologies such as sintering, forging and extrusion.

 

Project information


Project title
"Technology and material development for the additive production of complex highly thermally conductive Cu components - CuAdd"


Project duration
December 2019 - December 2021


Project partners
KME Mansfeld GmbH, Hettstedt (Coordinator)
Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems
Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes CBP

 

 

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Funding


We would like to thank the Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt for funding the project "Technology and material development for the additive production of complex highly thermally conductive Cu components - CuAdd".

FKZ 2004/00004 12/2019 - 12/2021

Contact


Dr. Olaf Schwedler

Head of Process Development

KME Mansfeld GmbH

Lichtlöcherberg 40 | 06333 Hettstedt

Fon +49 3476 89-2315 | Fax +49 3476 89-2041
Olaf.Schwedler@kme.com | www.kme.com