Additive manufacturing of geometrically complex pure copper parts

The additive manufacturing of geometrically complex parts of pure copper using laser assisted powder bed fusion (LPBF) is demonstrated. The high thermal and electrical conductivity of pure copper combined with the geometric freedom of the LPBF process offers a wide range of applications. We demonstrate the fabrication of parts combining a high homogeneous density with complex geometries by adapting the laser power to the available thermal mass. This is done by applying a simple model which calculates the required laser power based on available thermal mass approximated by the local geometry.