Work

Additive Manufacturing of Copper—A Survey on Current Needs and Challenges

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) of copper is subject to dynamic development regarding available processes and the quality of produced parts. While challenging, AM processes for copper provide parts with a quality comparable to other metallic material groups like steels. The reasons for the lower prevalence of additive manufacturing of copper components in industrial applications are currently not sufficiently researched, especially in light of the significant progress made in the maturity of this technology. A survey is used to investigate the assessments of protagonists in the field of copper AM. The needs of current and potential users of copper AM are analyzed and outlined. This study reveals that the most relevant technical limitation for users is the reduced surface quality of parts, while overall processes need to become less costly and more reliable to find broader use. Answers given hint to a higher degree of automation, the possibility of multi-material processing, and the upscaling of machine and part sizes as relevant future trends in the copper AM sector.

Source: Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing

DOI: 10.3390/jmmp9040109

Authors: Moritz Benedikt Schäfle, Michel Fett, Julian Gärtner, Eckhard Kirchner

Institution: Technische Universität Darmstadt

Language: English

Topic: Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,172