Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion System

• Subject Area: Materials Science
• Term: Funded in 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 510085108

As part of the new appointment of the Heisenberg Professorship "Materials for Additive Manufacturing", the profile core Materials.Inspire.Systems of the University of Wuppertal is to be expanded to include the area of materials development for powder-based additive manufacturing processes. Metal-based additive manufacturing (AM) processes enable the production of complex components with high density and geometric dimensional accuracy. The development of innovative material concepts tailored to AM is the focus of the newly established Chair . An Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (EB-PBF) system is proposed for materials development in additive manufacturing. This EB-PBF system will be a key element of the reference laboratory for powder-based materials development.EB-PBF is based on a powder bed of spherical (metal) powder particles, which is remelted layer by layer under vacuum using an electron beam without the use of a binder. Each powder layer is preheated and presintered. This improves the heat distribution in the powder bed, so that the temperature gradients in the component are low, which minimizes warpage and cracking. The achievable preheating is only limited by the beam power and is very high, which gives EB-PBF a major advantage over other AM processes, e.g. in the processing of intermetallic and difficult-to-weld high-temperature alloys and magnetic materials. Another focus is on materials development with self-produced nanoadditives that adhere electrostatically to the surface of the matrix powder. Flow-free process control in a vacuum reduces agglomeration of fine particles in the EB-PBF so that the consolidated material exhibits greater homogeneity. At the same time, the development of simulation models is considerably simplified by the exclusion of the influencing factor of protective gas flow. EB-PBF is also advantageous for the use of loose powder mixtures consisting of several components (powder blends). Electron radiation, for example, is absorbed much better by Cu and Al than typically used laser radiation (λ = 1063-1090 nm), so that a broader spectrum of elements can be processed.The addition of EB-PBF to our university is expected to enable fundamental research and development of new materials with comparative consideration of alternative AM processes from powder metallurgy, process and component design to material characterization, thus significantly broadening the materials spectrum for AM and deepening the understanding of thermophysical phenomena during AM. The EB-PBF system applied for thus occupies a key position for the materials science, manufacturing technology and physics research spectrum of the participating chairs.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion Anlage
• Instrumentation Group: 2110 Formen-, Modellherstellung und gießereitechnische Maschinen
• Applicant Institution: Bergische Universität Wuppertal
• Leader: Professor Dr. Bilal Gökce