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Printing pure copper (99.9%) is possible since years with SLM process using lasers with an appropriate wavelength

• tbenst 2y ago
  Any references for 99.9% density with SLM copper? My understanding is that pure copper SLM printing is less frequently done as doesn’t work well with the infrared lasers on most machines, requires high heat & speed, and has more porosity than other alloys. It’s also hard to print so that it’s strong, conductive and heat stable. I think there’s still quite active research in the area, though, and no doubt there’s a lot going on that I don’t know! https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127523004380 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026412752... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10861549/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10861549/
  • ju-st 2y ago
    Sorry I wasn't talking about density but the copper content of a powder which is printable. Googling a bit I found this presentation from 2022 showing that a density of 99.5% for pure copper is possible although at half the productivity of a copper alloy https://www.coppercouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/TS22-Thielmann.pdf https://www.coppercouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/TS2...
  • FrostKiwi 2y ago
    > doesn’t work well with the infrared lasers The copper use-case is what kick-ed off an industry-wide race towards offering blue laser as an option. There is more than just wavelength that goes into printing good copper results, but that is a major factor.