Additive manufacturing of CuCr1Zr by development of a gas atomization and laser powder bed fusion routine

Abstract

The research focuses on alloy design, powder production, and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of copper alloys. Copper and its alloys play a fundamental role for modern industrial applications due to their excellent thermal and electric conductivity in conjunction with considerable mechanical strength, for example, as welding electrodes and nozzles. By precipitation hardening, the hardness of low-alloyed copper, like CuCr1Zr, can be increased significantly. A combination of the geometry freedom of additive manufacturing with a tailor-made alloy design during powder production offers the opportunity to develop new alloy systems with a focus on the respective application. Experimental results regarding gas atomization, LPBF, property investigations, and property optimization of CuCr1Zr are presented. Powder particles and LPBF parts were analyzed with respect to phase and precipitate formation and compared to benchmark experiments of conventionally cast copper alloys. The microstructure differs significantly. Furthermore, the relative density of the LPBF parts reaches a value of 99.8%.