Preparation of Bronze (CuSn10) Parts by Material Extrusion Process Using Paraffin-Based Binder

In this study, bronze (CuSn10) feedstocks were prepared using paraffin-based binders, which were extrusion printed to obtain green parts, and bronze samples were obtained by debinding and sintering the green parts. The influence of powder loading capacity, printing temperature, and sintering temperature on the microstructure and properties of the obtained bronze samples were investigated. The results show that the obtained green bronze parts with 55% powder loading capacity printed at 160 °C have the highest density of 5.11 g/cm³. After debinding, the samples were sintered at 840 °C for 90 min in H₂ atmosphere, showing the highest relative density (97.97 ± 1.05%) and hardness (65.6 ± 0.5 HB), which were comparable to bronze samples prepared by the pressing and sintering process using the same raw materials. And the maximum tensile strength and flexural strength of the printed bronze products are 286.5 ± 2.1 MPa and 313.6 ± 1.5 MPa. The present work has shown that bronze samples with complex shapes, high precision, and fewer defects can be successfully prepared by the material extrusion process under the optimum parameters.