Copper in 3D printing

This post is a detailed read to follow up on my first impressions from RAPID+TCT 2023. Of the three points, I provide my personal thoughts on how Copper is making a big splash! Do leave your thoughts and comments!

Disclaimer: The numbers, charts, and representations below are the author's work with information obtained through various public sources. These are purely for informational purposes. Neither are they exhaustive nor any commercial purpose is intended.

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Copper is a remarkable metal with a rich history, shaping human history over time, and it continues to be a vital metal driving development in our electrification and sustainability goals. In modern times, its electrical and thermal conductivity have been two attractive properties for many applications. Combining these with the design freedom from 3D printing, there has been a huge spike in interest in 3D printing copper-based designs.

Where exactly is copper used and how much?

The estimated annual consumption of copper is 25 million metric tons. The pie chart below shows representative usage in different industries

What applications are suitable for 3D printing?

Now if we look at the main industries and dig in for applications (excluding the space industry), we can find that few applications stand out for 3D printing. The qualitative criteria used to screen them are (1) approximate cost of the product (2) volume of production (3) design complexity needed (4) functional efficiency from 3d printing.

Comparing the TAM vs CAGR, the four applications that stand out are

1. EV and Electric motors
2. Heat exchangers and heat sinks
3. Pumps and valves
4. Printed Circuit Boards

Can I print them?

This is a tricky question to answer. It is going to depend on technology and the business case. As for the technology, the powders and laser fusion technology to print the first 2 items (motor components and heat exchangers) on the list are well in progress. Some of the OEMs quote a TRL level of 3-5 on a few of the alloys but overall the range of material availability is impressive and a brief compilation is provided below.

The last item on the list, Printed circuit boards, is a mega industry by itself. Powder bed technology is currently not equipped to address this. To the author's best knowledge, there is a single 3D printer that is commercially available (sold by NanoDimension) and a PCB prototype printer (sold by Voltera, priced from $5,199.98).

On a different note, laser-based DED (Directed energy deposition) technology is also promising to print fine features on a substrate but not the entire PCB (Reference: Optomec Aerosol Jet).

What's next?

With the space and EV industry promising huge growth over the next decade, the demand for high-efficiency and lightweight components will continue to drive copper applications. The ability to print an entire motor without having to wind coils will be a north star. That would also be an exciting technical challenge with multi-material printing in a low-oxygen environment without powder cross-contamination. Or it might be a new unique process that might enable the same. Rocket engine parts with multi-materials to enable higher efficiency and payload capacities will be driving the usage of copper alloys. Let us buckle up for an exciting ride and keep the innovation coming.