On the processability of copper components via powder-based additive manufacturing processes: Potentials, challenges and feasible solutions

The high electrical and thermal conductivities make copper the most suitable material for producing components where a high heat transfer capability is required. The material efficiency can be enhanced by designing shell and tube exchangers that allow high heat-transfer coefficient and high turbulence. However, high-performance design often required many manufacturing operations, including welding, that compromise the heat exchanger theoretical efficiency. Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques can solve this problem definitely, but copper manufacturing is still particularly challenging for AM. Over the last decade, many studies have been carried out to face this topic and show possible solutions. This paper offers an overview of research advances on copper manufacturability via powder-based AM processes. The solutions are grouped into two categories: technological modifications and material modifications. This review highlights the best practices that may be considered for future works to accelerate the development of copper processed by AM. Overall, this work points out the importance, challenges and opportunities when the potentialities of AM processes are integrated with the unique characteristics of copper.