EXPLORING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES FOR DIRECT 3D PRINTING OF COPPER INDUCTION COILS

摘要

A number of additive manufacturing processes were analyzed and compared in regards to the direct 3D printing of copper induction coils. The purpose of this study was to narrow in on 3D printing technologies that would best be suited for the manufacture of copper inductions coils. The main focus of the study was to look at how all the available additive processes could specifically be successful at creating parts made of copper pure enough to effectively conduct electricity and also geometries complex enough to meet the demands of various induction coil designs. The results of this study led to three main categories of additive manufacturing that were deemed good choices for producing copper induction coils, these included: powder bed fusion, sheet lamination, and directed energy deposition. Specific processes identified within these categories were powder bed fusion using electron beam melting and laser melting; ultrasonic additive manufacturing; and directed energy deposition utilizing laser melting and electron beam melting using both wire and powder material delivery systems. Also discussed was additional benefits that using 3D printing technology could provide beyond the physical manufacturing portion by opening doors for coupling with computer aided drafting (CAD) and computer aided engineering (CAE) software in order to create a seamless design-to-production process.