Material-efficient Cu wire-based 3D printing technology

Area Acceleration (D2) Segment Upscaling (D2.2) Duration 2019/01/01-2021/12/31

First year

The project implementation schedule is divided into 6 Work Packages (Gantt chart, Fig. 1), and  during the first year, four of them (WP0 – WP3) will accur.

WP0 – include the market analysis, with main emphasis on the target end users in the marine sector and the technical, operational and financial feasibility studies.

WP1 – is focused on management, monitoring and control activities and will last for the entire duration of the project.

WP2 – is aimed at educational aspects connected with the project theme and professional development. It will start from the beginning of the project and lasts for the whole project duration.

WP3 –  will start in the third month of the project and will be focused on the selection and optimization of the chemical composition of the copper alloys from the Cu-Al system. The input wire materials for the AM process will be produced and subjected to detailed material analysis.


Fig. 1. Gantt chart.

Project Partners

Łukasiewicz Research Network - Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals

  • Development of the Cu-based alloys
  • Development of production technology of feedstock materials for WAAM
  • Wire arc additive manufacturing at laboratory scale
  • Materials investigations

Ghent University

  • Corrosion-fatigue investigations
  • Tests of the prototypes in seawater environment
  • Educational activities

Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development

  • Material investigations
  • Mechanical proporties

Gefertec GmbH

  • Development of the production process parameters by means of 3DMP technology
  • Implementation of the results of the project (end user)
  • Manufacturing of the new products

Tecnalia Research and Innovation

  • Erosion tests
  • Non-destructive tests

Supported by