1.Marine Equipment and Technology Institute,Jiangsu University of Science and Technology,Zhenjiang212003,China
2.School of Materials Science and Engineering,Jiangsu University of Science and University,Zhenjiang212003,China
Citations
GUAN Jieren,CHEN Titi,SHAN Yueqing,WANG Qiuping,WANG Rui. Thin-wall grille and overhanging structures of oxygen-free copper fabricated by laser powder bed fusion [J]. Copper Engineering,2025(6):12-19.
Abstract
Due to excellent thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity, copper materials have important application value in key fields such as efficient heat sinks and microwave RF connectors. Aiming at breaking through the bottleneck that the traditional casting process struggles to produce complex fine structures, this study adopted laser powder bed melting (LPBF) technology. Based on the optimized process parameters established in the previous work, the formability and design principles of typical geometrical shapes of oxygen-free copper prepared by LPBF process, including thin-wall grille and overhanging structures, were analyzed and discussed. The results showed that LPBF successfully prepared thin-wall grille structure with thickness range of 0.1~1.0 mm, circle overhanging structure with an aperture range of Φ 0.4~2 mm and overhanging structure at an angle to the horizontal plane of 15° and 30°. Characterization test and mechanism analysis showed that the high thermal conductivity of copper promoted rapid solidification of the molten pool, effectively inhibiting melt flow within the limited molding height, and reduced the overhanging angle without causing hanging slag and collapse. This breakthrough overcame the traditional process constraints requiring support structures for overhanging formations. The research findings provided theoretical guidance for rapid manufacturing of copper thin-wall grilles and overhanging components, and laid a theoretical foundation for industrial production applications.
Keywords
laser powder bed fusion;oxygen-free copper;thin-wall grille;overhanging structure;additive manufacturing;
铜及铜合金因其优异的导热性、导电性和可加工性,在航空航天、电子封装、散热及微波器件等领域具有重要价值[ GUSCHLBAUER R,MOMENI S,OSMANLIC F,et al. Process development of 99.95% pure copper processed via selective electron beam melting and its mechanical and physical properties[J]. Materials Characterization,2018,143:163-170. RAAB S J,GUSCHLBAUER R,LODES M A,et al. Thermal and electrical conductivity of 99.9% pure copper processed via selective electron beam melting[J]. Advanced Engineering Materials,2016,18(9):1661-1666. 1-2]。随着现代工业对微型化、集成化设备需求的不断增长,对具有复杂薄壁特征和悬垂结构的铜质定制件的制造提出了迫切需求[ 薛亚辉,张金超,高洁,等. 增材制造技术在散热器件研制中的应用与最新进展[J]. 铜业工程,2024(3):1-30. 3]。然而,传统铸造和机械加工技术在制造此类复杂结构时,面临周期长、材料利用率低、精度差等问题[ 杨娜,黄玮,王玉琦,等. 铜及其合金梯度结构制备及性能研究进展[J]. 铜业工程,2024(1):67-80. 4]。
金属增材制造技术为铜质复杂定制结构件的制备提供了新的技术路径[ ASKARI M,HUTCHINS D A,THOMAS P J,et al. Additive manufacturing of metamaterials:a review[J]. Additive Manufacturing,2020,36:101562. 5],其中激光粉末床熔融(laser powder bed fusion,LPBF)技术凭借其高成型精度和高加工柔性备受关注[ TANG X P,CHEN X H,SUN F J,et al. The current state of CuCrZr and CuCrNb alloys manufactured by additive manufacturing:a review[J]. Materials & Design,2022,224:111419. CHEN H,YAN W T. Spattering and denudation in laser powder bed fusion process:multiphase flow modelling[J]. Acta Materialia,2020,196:154-167. GUAN J R,WANG Q P. Laser powder bed fusion of dissimilar metal materials:a review[J]. Materials,2023,16(7):2757. 6-8]。然而,铜材料对于激光具有高反射率,尤其对于1064 nm波长激光,反射率超过90%,加之高热导率[400 W/(m·K)],导致在LPBF过程中存在激光能量吸收率低、熔池稳定性差、出现冶金缺陷等技术难题[ HU R,SU K J,LAO Z B,et al. Process of pure copper fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) technology under moderate laser power with re-melting strategy[J]. Materials,2023,16(7):2642. YAN X C,CHANG C,DONG D D,et al. Microstructure and mechanical properties of pure copper manufactured by selective laser melting[J]. Materials Science and Engineering:A,2020,789:139615. 9-10]。Ikeshoji等[ IKESHOJI T T,NAKAMURA K,YONEHARA M,et al. Selective laser melting of pure copper[J]. JOM,2018,70(3):396-400. 11]采用有限元分析结合试验验证探索了加工参数对致密度的影响。Jadhav等[ JADHAV S D,GOOSSENS L R,KINDS Y,et al. Laser-based powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of pure copper[J]. Additive Manufacturing,2021,42:101990. 12]通过优化工艺参数将纯铜相对密度提升至99%,揭示了熔池中匙孔缺陷的形成机理。现有研究多集中于块体材料成型质量优化[ KUAI Z Z,LI Z H,LIU B,et al. Selective laser melting of CuCrZr alloy:processing optimisation,microstructure and mechanical properties[J]. Journal of Materials Research and Technology,2022,19:4915-4931. YANG X Y,WANG L S,LIANG X B,et al. Microstructure and properties of high relative density CuCrZr alloy manufactured by selective laser melting with coarse powder[J]. Materials Science and Engineering:A,2025,929:148135. 13-14],对薄壁结构成型过程中特有的热累积效应、散热不均导致的几何畸变,以及悬垂结构倾斜角的设计准则等关键问题仍缺乏系统研究,特别是特征尺寸小于0.5 mm的薄壁结构,以及倾角小于45°的悬垂结构,更容易出现成型失效,严重制约铜质材料的LPBF成型精度和结构可靠性。
Fig. 2 (a) Aperture size of circular overhanging structure;(b) Inclined structure relative to the horizontal plane;(c,d) Schematic diagram of thin-wall grille structure
1.3 加工参数和表征
采用配备高速振镜系统的YLM-120SLM设备(LPBF,江苏永年激光成形技术有限公司)来成型悬垂和薄壁格栅结构,设备结构如图1(b)所示,最大激光功率为200 W,光斑直径为75 μm;选用不锈钢作为基板并做喷砂粗化处理,以保障铜与钢形成良好的冶金结合[ TAN C L,ZHOU K S,MA W Y,et al. Interfacial characteristic and mechanical performance of maraging steel-copper functional bimetal produced by selective laser melting based hybrid manufacture[J]. Materials and Design,2018,155:77-85. 15]。通过温控系统将预热温度稳定在(120±5) ℃,根据前期工艺优化结果[ GUAN J R,ZHANG X W,JIANG Y H,et al. Insights into fabrication mechanism of pure copper thin wall components by selective infrared laser melting[J]. Rapid Prototyping Journal,2019,25(8):1388-1397. 16],加工参数设定为:激光功率P=190 W,扫描速度v=500 mm/s,扫描间距s=60 μm,层厚t=20 μm。在现有设备最大功率范围内,该参数组合可使试样相对密度达85%,采用更高功率激光器或绿光激光器能进一步提升致密度[ JADHAV S D,GOOSSENS L R,KINDS Y,et al. Laser-based powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of pure copper[J]. Additive Manufacturing,2021,42:101990. 12, KANG S G,GAINOV R,HEUSSEN D,et al. Green laser powder bed fusion based fabrication and rate-dependent mechanical properties of copper lattices[J]. Materials & Design,2023,231:112023. 17]。采用氩气作为保护气体,成型舱内氧的体积浓度低于0.01%。打印完成后,采用电火花线切割技术将试样从基板上分离,在无水乙醇中清洗30 min,经磨削、抛光处理后,在FeCl3,HCl和无水乙醇的混合液中腐蚀10 s以进行金相组织观察。利用扫描电镜(scanning electron microscopy,SEM)(ZEISS EVO-18,德国)对金属粉末、薄壁格栅结构的显微组织形貌进行检测。采用波长为0.15406 nm的Cu Kα辐射进行X射线衍射(X-ray,XRD)表征,2θ取值范围在30°~95°之间。采用三维影像扫描仪(video measuring machine,VMC)拍摄、测量薄壁格栅结构的形态、尺寸。
2 结果与讨论
2.1 LPBF成型OFC微观组织
铜的熔点为1083 ℃,且具有较高的反射率和热导率,在LPBF过程中吸收入射的激光能量后快速熔化、凝固,熔池中心的热传导速率高,熔体冷却速度加快,黏度增加,熔融液体来不及完全流动混合即发生凝固,在试样表面留下叠加的蠕虫状形貌[图3(a)]。熔体的流动处于无序、不规则的状态,易在逐层打印过程中留下孔洞[图3(b)],使致密度降低。此外,形成的孔洞一旦受到热应力的作用,将转变为裂纹源,如图3 (c,d)所示。裂纹主要从孔洞的边缘产生并扩展,对基体组织产生割裂作用。来不及完全收缩即发生凝固形成的孔洞,其间存在未完全熔化的铜颗粒,组织呈现胞状单元结构,晶界明显[ 图3(e)],还存在铜的氧化物颗粒。图3(f)为图3(e)中白色物质的元素含量分布,可知少量的氧存在于组织中。铜对于氧的存在比较敏感,即使在惰性气体氩气的保护下,气流中的微量氧也会导致氧化物的出现,由此削弱晶界结合力。在熔炼和铸造过程中,易生成Cu2O,通常使用磷元素作为氧稀释剂,通过扒渣的方式减少氧化物的产生。然而,在LPBF成型过程中,磷的存在会影响试样的电导率、热导率和力学性能[ GU R N,YAO X Y,WANG D W,et al. Selective laser melting of Cu-10Sn-0.4P:processing,microstructure,properties,and brief comparison with additively manufactured Cu-10Sn[J]. Advanced Engineering Materials,2022,24:2100716. 18]。因此,对于LPBF成型OFC试样,应采用更大功率的激光器,或将基板预热温度升高,促进粉末对输入能量的吸收,降低温度梯度,并结合恰当的工艺参数和扫描策略,避免裂纹的产生,以获得性能良好的OFC结构件。
Fig. 3 (a) Surface morphology;(b) Enlarged view of yellow square area in figure (a);(c) Metallographic microstructure;(d) SEM image;(e) Enlarged view of orange square area in figure (d);(f) Element content at labeled region in figure (e);(g) XRD spectra
Fig. 4 (a) Micro-morphology of 0.5 mm thin-wall grille structure;(b) Side surface morphology;(c) Schematic diagram of laser beam reflection path among powders;(d) Schematic diagram of Marangoni convection phenomenon
由图4(b)可知,试样侧面形貌特征显著区别于顶面。由于薄壁侧面是由轮廓扫描沿着竖直方向沉积而形成的,该区域在成型过程中受限于边界条件和熔池状态:一方面,轮廓边缘的散热速度较芯部快;另一方面,当激光束按高斯能量分布模式作用于粉末床时,部分能量被吸收,使粉末熔化形成熔池,部分能量被反射,如图4(c)所示。反射的激光光束在粉末颗粒间多次散射和反射,影响激光能量在粉末床中的分布和传递效率,熔池表面的温度梯度又导致了表面张力梯度,由此引发Marangoni对流效应,如图4(d)所示,未完全熔化的粉末颗粒也被卷入熔池边界区域。这种熔体动态不稳定性直接导致两个典型缺陷:一是熔池固液界面处黏附大量未熔/半熔粉末颗粒;二是表面质量变差。现有研究表明[ JIA H L,SUN H,WANG H Z,et al. Scanning strategy in selective laser melting (SLM):a review[J]. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,2021,113(9):2413-2435. YANG T,LIU T T,LIAO W H,et al. The influence of process parameters on vertical surface roughness of the AlSi10Mg parts fabricated by selective laser melting[J]. Journal of Materials Processing Technology,2019,266:26-36. WANG Q P,ZHU Z W,GUAN J R,et al. The influence mechanisms of re-fused scanning on the surface roughness,microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of laser powder bed fusion processed AlMgScZr alloy[J]. Optics & Laser Technology,2024,177:111060. 19-21],通过多道轮廓扫描策略或轮廓重熔工艺,可有效改善此类缺陷,特别是优化芯部与轮廓扫描的时序控制可降低表面粗糙度,这为后续工艺优化提供了明确方向。
Fig. 5 (a) Macro-morphology of OFC circle overhanging structure fabricated by LPBF;(b) Light transmission effect irradiated by light source;(c) Schematic diagram of slicing
从成型机理上分析可知:对三维实体进行分层的过程,是采用一个平行于XY面的平面与设计模型求交得到封闭轮廓线,该轮廓线形成的平面在粉末沉积过程中有固定厚度,即t=20 μm,因此存在台阶效应。图5(c)揭示了分层切片过程中环形悬垂结构的台阶效应形成机制,对圆形下半部分进行切片时,前一层对后一层起到支撑作用,而对圆形上半部分切片时,形成没有支撑的悬空部分。切片层与层之间悬空部分的长度S可用式(1)表示[ YANG T,LIU T T,LIAO W H,et al. The influence of process parameters on vertical surface roughness of the AlSi10Mg parts fabricated by selective laser melting[J]. Journal of Materials Processing Technology,2019,266:26-36. 20]。
Fig. 6 (a) Macro-morphology of OFC overhanging structure at an angle to the horizontal plane fabricated by LPBF;(b) Schematic diagram of slicing;(c) Condition of the overhanging surface of samples cut from the substrate
GUSCHLBAUERR,MOMENIS,OSMANLICF,et al. Process development of 99.95% pure copper processed via selective electron beam melting and its mechanical and physical properties[J]. Materials Characterization,2018,143:163-170.
[2]
RAABS J,GUSCHLBAUERR,LODESM A,et al. Thermal and electrical conductivity of 99.9% pure copper processed via selective electron beam melting[J]. Advanced Engineering Materials,2016,18(9):1661-1666.
TANGX P,CHENX H,SUNF J,et al. The current state of CuCrZr and CuCrNb alloys manufactured by additive manufacturing:a review[J]. Materials & Design,2022,224:111419.
[7]
CHENH,YANW T. Spattering and denudation in laser powder bed fusion process:multiphase flow modelling[J]. Acta Materialia,2020,196:154-167.
[8]
GUANJ R,WANGQ P. Laser powder bed fusion of dissimilar metal materials:a review[J]. Materials,2023,16(7):2757.
[9]
HUR,SUK J,LAOZ B,et al. Process of pure copper fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) technology under moderate laser power with re-melting strategy[J]. Materials,2023,16(7):2642.
[10]
YANX C,CHANGC,DONGD D,et al. Microstructure and mechanical properties of pure copper manufactured by selective laser melting[J]. Materials Science and Engineering:A,2020,789:139615.
[11]
IKESHOJIT T,NAKAMURAK,YONEHARAM,et al. Selective laser melting of pure copper[J]. JOM,2018,70(3):396-400.
[12]
JADHAVS D,GOOSSENSL R,KINDSY,et al. Laser-based powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of pure copper[J]. Additive Manufacturing,2021,42:101990.
[13]
KUAIZ Z,LIZ H,LIUB,et al. Selective laser melting of CuCrZr alloy:processing optimisation,microstructure and mechanical properties[J]. Journal of Materials Research and Technology,2022,19:4915-4931.
[14]
YANGX Y,WANGL S,LIANGX B,et al. Microstructure and properties of high relative density CuCrZr alloy manufactured by selective laser melting with coarse powder[J]. Materials Science and Engineering:A,2025,929:148135.
[15]
TANC L,ZHOUK S,MAW Y,et al. Interfacial characteristic and mechanical performance of maraging steel-copper functional bimetal produced by selective laser melting based hybrid manufacture[J]. Materials and Design,2018,155:77-85.
[16]
GUANJ R,ZHANGX W,JIANGY H,et al. Insights into fabrication mechanism of pure copper thin wall components by selective infrared laser melting[J]. Rapid Prototyping Journal,2019,25(8):1388-1397.
[17]
KANGS G,GAINOVR,HEUSSEND,et al. Green laser powder bed fusion based fabrication and rate-dependent mechanical properties of copper lattices[J]. Materials & Design,2023,231:112023.
[18]
GUR N,YAOX Y,WANGD W,et al. Selective laser melting of Cu-10Sn-0.4P:processing,microstructure,properties,and brief comparison with additively manufactured Cu-10Sn[J]. Advanced Engineering Materials,2022,24:2100716.
[19]
JIAH L,SUNH,WANGH Z,et al. Scanning strategy in selective laser melting (SLM):a review[J]. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,2021,113(9):2413-2435.
[20]
YANGT,LIUT T,LIAOW H,et al. The influence of process parameters on vertical surface roughness of the AlSi10Mg parts fabricated by selective laser melting[J]. Journal of Materials Processing Technology,2019,266:26-36.
[21]
WANGQ P,ZHUZ W,GUANJ R,et al. The influence mechanisms of re-fused scanning on the surface roughness,microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of laser powder bed fusion processed AlMgScZr alloy[J]. Optics & Laser Technology,2024,177:111060.