Pure copper rod formation by multibeam laser metal deposition method with blue diode lasers

Abstract

Pure copper rods were additively fabricated by using a multibeam type laser metal deposition (LMD) device equipped with two blue diode lasers, and the influence of them on the rods was investigated. It is unknown how the rod changes with respect to the process parameters such as the laser power and the powder feeding rate. In this study, the laser power and the powder feeding rate were changed to form a pure copper rod in the LMD method, and the influence of them on the cross-sectional area of the rod was investigated. Moreover, the electrical resistance value of the rod was measured, and the influence of the laser power on the electrical resistivity was investigated. In addition, the elemental analysis of the cross section was performed by an electron probe microanalyzer, and the influence of the laser power was investigated. As a result, the cross-sectional area of the rod is slightly dependent on the powder feeding rate, and even if the powder feeding rate is increased, the cross-sectional area is slightly increased, but when the laser power is increased, the cross-sectional area is significantly increased. Moreover, when the laser power was increased, the electrical resistivity increased. The elemental analysis revealed that the surface of the rod might be oxidized, which suggested that it affected the electrical resistivity.