Characterization of the Metal Fused Filament Fabrication Process for Manufacturing of Pure Copper Inductors

Abstract

This work presents a comprehensive investigation into the optimization of critical process parameters associated with metal fused filament fabrication (Metal-FFF) for the production of copper-based components. The study focused on three different commercial and one self-manufactured filament, each with unique chemical compositions. These filaments were systematically optimized and the density was characterized for all processing steps, as well as the electrical conductivity on the specimen scale. Remarkably, two of the studied filaments exhibited exceptional properties after sintering with forming gas (up to 94% density and 55.75 MS/m electrical conductivity), approaching the properties measured for established manufacturing methods like metal injection molding. Finally, the research was extended to component-scale applications, demonstrating the successful fabrication of inductors with integrated cooling channels. These components exhibited water tightness and were used in induction hardening experiments, validating the practical utility of the optimized Metal-FFF process. In summary, the results show great promise in advancing the utilization of Metal-FFF in industrial contexts, particularly in the production of high-performance copper components.

Dimensional Characterization and Hybrid Manufacturing of Copper Parts Obtained by Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing, and CNC Machining

“…Finally, and in the specific case of ADAM technology, there is still a broad field of study not only with materials like stainless steel, for which there are only a few studies on dimensional or mechanical characterization [ 22 , 34 , 42 , 43 ], but also with other industrially relevant materials such as copper. Additive manufacturing of copper parts is the subject of numerous studies [ 44 , 45 ] due to the combination of the advantages of additive manufacturing and the suitability of the material for both electrical [ 46 , 47 ] and thermal applications [ 48 , 49 ]. Despite this, there are virtually no studies on ADAM with copper material, and even fewer on dimensional analysis, with only a few references related to mechanical characterization and roughness [ 50 ] and electrical discharge machining [ 21 ].…”