Work

Multi-material additive manufacturing of conductor-insulator compounds for battery cell cap fabrication

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study aims to simplify and accelerate the production of battery cell housings through additive manufacturing, emphasizing reduced tooling requirements and flexible design possibilities—especially advantageous for early-stage prototyping. The research focuses on fabricating conductor-insulator compounds through multi-material powder bed fusion with a laser beam (PBF-LB). An additional nozzle-based powder deposition method allows for the processing of three materials within a single build job: electrically insulating alumina-toughened zirconia, along with highly conductive pure aluminum and pure copper. Initial results from mono-material ceramic manufacturing were followed by a detailed analysis of the multi-material process between the metals and ceramics. Various strategies for optimizing the material transition zone were explored, with the most effective approach incorporating a stepped interface design combined with overlapping laser vectors to compensate for thermal shrinkage. The aluminum–ceramic samples produced with this strategy successfully met the helium leak tightness criterion, exhibiting a maximum leak rate below . This confirms that both the material transition and the ceramic region itself can be processed to be helium-tight. Furthermore, the investigations on ceramic processing revealed a maximum Archimedean density of 97.30%, and the ceramic specimens demonstrated a mean dielectric breakdown strength of 7.92 , underlining their suitability for insulation applications. These results demonstrate the robustness and potential of the proposed multi-material PBF-LB method for creating conductor-insulator compounds, particularly when compared to the current state of the art. The insights gained have led to the creation of guidelines that provide scientific support for future applications in multi-material manufacturing. • An additional nozzle-based deposition mechanism enabled multi-material manufacturing with minimal cross-contamination. • Stable processing was achieved for three-material compounds of pure aluminum, pure copper, and ceramics. • Stepped interface designs enhanced material transitions in multi-material compounds. • Helium gas-tightness was verified in compounds combining pure aluminum and ceramics. • A functional battery cell cap demonstrator confirmed the feasibility of the approach.

Source: Materials & Design

DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2025.114010

Authors: Thomas Bareth, Daniel Eder, Maja Lehmann, Georg Schlick, Christian Seidel

Institutions: Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, Technical University of Munich, Munich University of Applied Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,650